Future Trunks: Androids Unleashed
by Aneirin
Summary: The story of Future Trunks after he returned home. He's defeated the Androids and Cell, but he didn't make sure they were dead. When their revenge plots come into play, what will happen to the peace Trunks fought so hard for? Eventual romance.
1. prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z, just this story.

Author's note: Hey, what's up? This is my first Dragon Ball related fic, so be gentle in your reviews. I was inspired to do this fic by one of the story lines in Tenkaichi 2, the one that dealt with Trunks coming back to the future and facing the Androids (Ultimate Future Warrior). That, and a longstanding interest in a certain pairing. Well, let's see what happens, shall we?

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Androids 17 and 18 were hanging around the remains of a destroyed building. 18 sat on a ledge, while 17 just stood there, leaning up against part of a wall, and looking out at the wrecked city. They were bored. With Gohan dead and Trunks gone, they had nothing to do. Aside from looking for a city to destroy, but that got old.

"I wonder where Trunks got to," said 18. "I don't think we killed him last time."

"You don't?" said 17. "I kinda thought we had. Well then, he's probably hiding somewhere. How much you wanna bet he's training or something? I bet he thinks he'll be able to beat us someday."

"Yeah," smiled 18. "Like he could beat us." Suddenly, they heard a noise. It was the sound of footsteps. "Hm?"

"I wonder who that could be?" said 17. 18 hopped off the ledge she was sitting on and 17 stood up straight. They walked out of the ruins of the building and went to go see who was outside. The sky outside was full of dark clouds. It looked like it might rain. They looked around for the source of the footsteps. Then they saw him.

17 smiled. "Aw, Trunks," he said. "We were just talking about you. Nice to see you're still in good health." Trunks stood there, looking back at 17.

"Nice to see you too," answered Trunks, his long hair blowing in the wind. He had most of it tied back in a ponytail.

"Interesting new outfit," said 17. "Reminds me of Vegeta's. What do you think, 18?" 18 whistled.

"Hm," she said. "When did you get so hot, Trunks? It hasn't been that long since we saw you last." Trunks ignored the first half of 18's comment.

"Doesn't matter," he said. "I think you know why I'm here." 17 sighed and shook his head.

"You never learn, do you?" he asked.

"Oh," said Trunks, "Make no mistake. I've learned. I've learned a lot." He started concentrating. His hair suddenly went golden, and his eyes turned green.

"Oh boy," said 17. "Looks like someone's copying you again, 18."

"First Gohan, then Trunks," said 18, sighing. "When will these guys ever learn that it doesn't change anything?"

"Never," said 17.

"Can we just kill him then?" asked 18. 17 nodded. "This should be fun." She smiled, and then suddenly rushed forward. She pulled back her fist, aiming for Trunks's head. He made no effort to dodge. Her fist flew forward. Bam! The force of the impact was tremendous. However, to 18's shock, she hadn't actually hit him.

Neither Android had seen him move. But there was Trunks, standing there, having caught 18's punch with his left hand. "What?" said 18.

"Too slow," said Trunks. He brought his right fist up, getting 18 square in the jaw and lifting her several inches off of the ground. However, not half a second later, he had hit her in the side of the head and sent her flying. She hit the ground and skidded to a halt. 17 looked on in shock. Trunks wasn't that strong. 18 must be toying with him.

"Why you," grunted 18, getting to her knees. She wiped a hand across her mouth, wiping the blood away from a small cut. "You're dead!" Trunks was suddenly in front of her. She tried to attack, but it was too late. Trunks had kicked her up into the air. It took only a second for 18 to right herself in the air. Trunks flew up to continue the attack. However, 18 was finally ready. She flew down and started punching and kicking. To her dismay, Trunks blocked every shot. Seconds later, she went crashing into the ground. She didn't move. She was either unconscious, or...

"Eighteen!" exclaimed 17. He looked at Trunks angrily. "You're gonna pay for that!" !7 flew up at Trunks. He didn't fair any better. Soon, he crashed down beside his sister. Trunks descended to the ground.

"Is that all?" he asked. 17 got up, slowly. He helped 18 up as well. She had only temporarily blacked out.

"Enough fooling around," said 17.

"I agree," said 18.

"Me too," said Trunks. 17 and 18 looked at each other. Suddenly, they started hurling energy at Trunks. They kept firing and firing, until the area Trunks was standing in was covered in smoke. They smiled. They had gone all out, and Trunks hadn't dodged. There was no way he was still standing after that. The smoke started to clear, causing the Androids' eyes to widen.

Trunks stood there, brushing some dust off of his shoulder. "That it?" when the Androids neglected to answer, Trunks smiled. "Alright then. My turn." He suddenly rushed forward. He grabbed both of them and flew into the air he let them go and kicked both back into the ground. His arms started moving quickly and he pointed both hands down at the deadly siblings. "This is the end for you!" he exclaimed. He launched a huge ball of energy down at them, causing a large explosion. Trunks flew down and inspected the spot. It was now a crater full of rubble. There was no way they could have survived. He stood watching the spot carefully. There was no movement at all. Suddenly a rock fell, causing Trunks to tense up. However, it was a false alarm. the rock had revealed 17's hand. It was completely lifeless.

Suddenly, there was a flash of lighting and a crack of thunder. It began to rain. Trunks looked up at the sky and sighed. It was over.

His job finished, he left, flying home. The Androids were defeated. The world was safe. He knew he would eventually have to face Cell, but he was sure that he could do it. After all, if the two androids weren't around for Cell to absorb, he couldn't get past his first form. Trunks could take Cell. No sweat.

However, Trunks was wrong. Back in the crater, 17's hand twitched. It turned into a fist. 17 hauled himself and his sister out of the rubble. "Eighteen?" he asked. "Eighteen? Are you alright?"

"Uuhhh," groaned 18. "Seven... Seventeen? What happened?"

"Trunks," said 17. "He... He beat us."

"How did he get so strong?" asked 18, trying to get up. However, she could only manage to get to her knees.

"I don't know," said Seventeen. "He probably thinks he killed us though. We should probably go into hiding."

"Yeah," nodded 18. "We need to find somewhere where we can heal."

"And," said 17, "We need to get ready to face him again. No one does that to us and gets away with it. Now that we know what we're up against, he can't surprise us. We weren't expecting him to be that strong. We'll get him next time." With that, they flew up out of the city and towards the mountains. They **would** have revenge.

888

Trunks stood there, waiting. It had been a long time since he'd defeated the Androids. He had done the math, and he knew that it was time for Cell to show up. He was going to prevent him from going into the past. If nothing else, it would prevent a second Cell crises for his friends. He had already learned that what he changed in the past didn't affect his present, so he realized that the Cell they had faced had been from another alternate future. He wouldn't make the same mistakes the other Trunks had made.

It wasn't long before he showed up. "Well, well, well," said Trunks. "Cell, nice to see you again."

"Again?" asked Cell. "I've never seen you before." Trunks smirked.

"Nope," said Trunks, "And after today, you won't see me again either. In fact, you wont see anything." It was Cell's turn to smirk.

"You know me, huh?" said Cell. "Then you should know what I'm capable of." Trunks nodded. "And you know what I'm going to do." Trunks nodded again. "Now that Androids Seventeen and Eighteen are gone, I have to go back into the past to find them and absorb them, so that I can-"

"Achieve perfection, blah blah blah, I've heard it before," said Trunks, cutting Cell off. He gestured to the time machine behind him. "Problem is, you're not about to use this time machine. I'm going to make sure of it." Trunks' hands began to glow.

"If you think you can defeat me," said Cell, "You're dead wrong! I can sense your power level! It's far too weak to be any challenge to me!" Trunks smiled.

"Even if that were true," said Trunks, "It won't matter after I do this!" He aimed behind him and blasted the time machine to bits.

"No!" exclaimed Cell. "You fool! Rrraaaaggghh!" Cell charged forward, determined to beat the purple-haired boy to a bloody pulp.

"Ha!" exclaimed Trunks, going Super Sayan. He dropped down and kicked Cell in the gut the moment he arrived, and then kicked him into the air. Trunks flew up after him, got above him, put both fists together, and knocked him back into the ground. He started launching energy at Cell. Each shot hit as soon as Cell hit the ground. Trunks quickly flew down.

Cell got up, slowly. "Alright," he said , "You're stronger than you look. But I can-"

"Completely regenerate any body part you lose," said Trunks, "And can do so even if all that remains of you is a single nuclei from your head."

"How did you-!?"

"I just do," said Trunks, not about to give Cell the story. "All you need to know, is that you're dead!" Trunks rushed forward and began pummeling Cell. He beat Cell to the point that Cell couldn't move. Trunks jumped back. "I'll finish you the way I finished the Androids! Goodbye Cell!" Trunks Unleashed a tremendous attack. When the smoke cleared, there wasn't a single cell left of Cell. At that range, he couldn't have missed any part of Cell. It was over. With that, Trunks flew back home.

However, It was the second time Trunks would be wrong. Cell's entire head had survived, buried in the ground. It would take longer to regenerate in this imperfect form, but Cell would rise again. He would find that boy, and defeat him. He, like the hidden Androids, would also have his revenge.

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Well, there's chapter one. It's short, I know. And, to be honest, it wasn't too great in my opinion. But this is just a prologue. The real story starts in the next chapter.

I decided to deal with both the Androids' and Cell's defeat at the hands of Trunks in the prologue so that I could get them out of the way. I hope you all liked it.

Stay tuned for the next chapter, coming soon!

P.S: I noticed this while looking for stories dealing with Trunks. There are two Trunks options in the filter list thing. One is trunks, and one is M. Trunks. I looked at Trunks, and many dealt with Future Trunks. M. Trunks is Mirai Trunks/Future Trunks, okay? I'm gonna use the regular Trunks filter for a bit. But, I am going to use my author's notes to help build awareness of this, and eventually change the filter to M. Trunks. Sorry if that seems pushy, but I like organization. At least when it comes to stories.


	2. of monsters and heros

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z, just this story.

Author's note: Alright, I'm back. The last chapter wasn't that great really. It was pretty much stuff that was supposed to happen after Trunks got back to the future. It was just a prologue. The real story begins here. So, without further ado, let's get going!

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Trunks sighed contentedly. Reconstruction of pretty much every city the Androids had destroyed was going along smoothly. It hadn't started until recently, as things hadn't been safe enough to rebuild until Cell was taken care of.

Trunks was currently pretty far away from home. He had decided to lend his efforts to the cities most in need of repairs, and his home town had already been mostly taken care of. He cracked his neck and looked at the workers he was with. They were in the middle of rebuilding the frame of a building.

"Where do you want me to put the next I-beam?" he asked, rolling up the sleeves of his jacket.

"Up there," said the foreman, pointing. Trunks looked up towards the spot.

"Alright," he said, "Toss me the beam." There was a few seconds of silence. Trunks looked back towards the workers. They were all looking at him. "What?"

"You... You're kidding, right?" asked the foreman. Trunks blinked.

"Oh," he smiled. "Right. My bad. I sorta forgot." He walked over and picked up the I-beam. "Up there, right?" The foreman nodded. Trunks flew up and placed the I-beam in the spot the foreman had indicated. He started using his Ki energy to weld the beam horizontally to the vertical beams in place. "That should hold long enough for us to get some workers up here to do the rest." Trunks flew back down.

"You're a big help Trunks," said the foreman. "With you taking the place of the heavy machinery, we can spread more workers out. We're making unbelievably good time."

"No problem," said Trunks. "It's my job to do everything I can to get the world back to normal."

"Well, you're doing a great job," said the foreman. Trunks smiled appreciatively. "Go ahead and take some workers up there, and then we'll get to work placing the next I-beam." Trunks nodded. He flew two workers up and placed them on the beam he had just set up. They set about bolting it down and welding it properly. Trunks landed, and was prepared to continue working, when suddenly there was an explosion in the distance.

"What was that!?" exclaimed the foreman. "An accident!?" Trunks looked grim.

"That was no accident," he said. "I'm sure of it." He grabbed his sword (he'd gotten another one after he got home), which he'd laid down near the I-beams, and strapped it on. He knew that someone or something had just attacked, but he didn't know who, what, or why. He would find out. He took off towards the scene of the explosion. He arrived on the scene quickly.

There were workers and civilians groaning in pain, getting up off of the ground. It didn't look like anyone had been seriously injured. Trunks went to the nearest person, a brown-haired lady.

"What happened?" he asked, helping the woman up.

"I don't know," she said. "We were all just walking along, and then they came out of nowhere."

"Who?" asked Trunks. "Who came-?"

"Us," said a dreadfully familiar voice. Trunks looked up.

"No," said Trunks. "Not you two! I-"

"Didn't finish the job," interrupted 17 again. Trunks glared at them.

"Why did you do this?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious, ponytail?" asked 18. "To lure you out."

"You won't catch us off guard this time," said 17. "We're wise to your tricks, and we know how strong you are now." Angry as he was, Trunks smirked.

"You really think so, huh?" he asked. 17 and 18 narrowed their eyes at Trunks. "Just saying," said Trunks. "I could beat you without going Super Saiyan."

"Prove it," said 17. "You fight me first this time. Normally, we'd both attack you at once, but that wouldn't be sporting. Or very fun." Trunks nodded. They both rushed forward. Their hands connected, and they each began trying to force the other down. Trunks began to gain the upper hand.

"That all you got?" asked Trunks. 17 smiled.

"You wish!" He began pushing harder. They were soon back at a standstill. The air around them began to crackle with energy. 17 started pushing Trunks back. "That all **you** got?"

"Not a chance!" answered Trunks. He pushed back harder. The ground benath them began to get pushed down through the sheer force of their energy. They were soon floating several inches off the ground. 18 just stood by, shaking her head.

"Men," she grumbled. "A bunch of testosterone fueled apes. Seventeen has to force him to the ground. He can't just go for the direct kill." She sighed. "What idiots." Trunks smirked.

"I think you're right Eighteen," said Trunks. "This **is** stupid!" He suddenly kicked 17 in the gut. He started spinning him around. He went faster and faster, until he was a blur. He then threw 17 straight into the ground. 17 went in several feet deep.

"Urg," grunted 17, crawling out of the ground. "Damn it. Stop giving him tips Eighteen!"

"How was I supposed to know he was smart enough to do what I said?" she asked. Trunks laughed.

"Sooner or later, I would have done that anyway," said Trunks. He rushed at 17. He began a furious attack, punching and kicking as hard and fast as he could. It took all of 17's speed to block. Unfortunately, blocking Trunk's blows hurt. A lot. "S'matter?" asked Trunks. "Didn't expect me to be this strong?" Inside, 17 was saying 'no, I didn't.' But he wasn't about to show any weakness.

"Of course I was," said 17. "I told you, we were prepared for this!" 17 kicked at Trunks, who blocked. 17 took advantage of the momentary distraction, and punched Trunks in the face. Trunks went flying backwards. He righted himself, and brushed a hand across his cheek.

'Shouldn't have let my guard down,' he thought. "No more fooling around!" He started launching Ki blasts at 17. 17 countered with his own. They all collided in midair. Both kept it up though, filling the air with energy blasts.

"You can't keep this up forever!" exclaimed 17. "But I can!"

"I don't have to keep it up forever," said Trunks. He disappeared, reappearing behind 17. "I got faster too, you know." The only reaction 17 had time for was his eyes widening in surprise. Trunks grabbed him, and charged his hands with Ki. He blasted 17, point blank. The smoke cleared, and Trunks dropped him. Actually, he threw him as hard as he could towards the ground.

"Seventeen!" exclaimed 18 as he hit the ground. She rushed over. He was still conscious, but he could hardly move.

"H-he..." grunted 17. "He's stronger than... than we thought Eighteen." Eighteen looked up at Trunks, narrowing her eyes at him. He didn't seem to have broken a sweat.

"I can take him," said 18. "You were caught off guard. I won't be." 17 nodded. 18 flew up towards Trunks, itching to make him pay for humiliating her brother in combat.

Trunks, although he hadn't shown any outward signs, was actually tired. He had gone all out to beat 17. He wished he hadn't challenged them to a fight without him going Super Saiyan. His Saiyan Pride wouldn't allow him to go Super Saiyan against them now. Besides, he told himself, he would prove that he could take them without powering up to that level. He'd undergone a lot of training to fight Cell, and he was now so much more powerful than he used to be.

18 reached Trunks and began her attack. She began punching and kicking, just as fast as Trunks had done earlier. To his dismay, she was hitting as hard as Trunks too. He was starting to think that it may have been surprise that let him beat 17. Maybe- His thoughts were cut short by a punch to the gut. While he was winded, 18 grabbed his long hair, pulling his face up to hers.

"We weren't expecting you to be this strong without you doing your 'Super Saiyan' thing," said 18, "That much is true. But you seem to have forgotten who you're messing with. We've killed Super Saiyans before now. Vegeta, for example. And Gohan." Trunks's face radiated fury. "What's wrong ponytail? Did I hit a nerve?"

"You're dead!" Trunks shouted in her face. He kicked her in the stomach as hard as he could. 18 gasped in pain, letting go of Trunks' hair. Trunks grabbed her by the head and kneed her in the face. He let go, and then unleashed a torrent of punches and kicks. He then smashed 18 to the ground. He landed. He was glowing golden.

"Nice one," grunted 17. "He's real mad now."

"Sorry," said 18, trying to get up.

"Sorry!?" exclaimed 17. "He's practically going blonde again!"

"We can beat him, Seventeen," said 18. "I'm sure of it." They both rushed Trunks. Trunks was now defending from both sides. Unfortunately for the Androids, he was doing a remarkable job.

"We can't hit him!" exclaimed 17.

"Yes we can, keep trying!" exclaimed 18. 17 and 18 kicked at Trunks simultaneously. Trunks caught their legs, catching them by surprise in the process.

"I don't think you two understand," said Trunks. "I can destroy you both in an instant!" He threw them both forward, and they skidded along the ground, eventually coming to a stop. "I haven't shown you my full power yet." 17 and 18 got up, prepared to fight to the death. Suddenly, there were screams. All three of them started looking around.

"What is that thing?!" someone exclaimed. Trunks looked forward. His eyes widened. There, in the distance, was a green figure he'd hoped never to see again. And it was coming right for them. He looked at 17 and 18.

"You two have to get out of here, now!" exclaimed Trunks.

"Huh!?" they exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" asked 18

"Why should we listen to you?" asked 17. Trunks suddenly went Super Saiyan. He charged up a Ki blast, the one he'd used to defeat Freeza, and launched it straight at them. 17 and 18 blocked, closing their eyes and bracing for impact. When it didn't hit, they opened their eyes. Trunks had shot between them. They looked to where it must have hit. They gasped.

"That's why!" exclaimed Trunks, launching another large Ki blast. Cell took it full on, losing an arm and falling to the floor. He got up slowly, regenerating his arm as he did.

"What is that?" asked 17.

"That's Cell," said Trunks, keeping up the assault. "He's after you two. That's why you need to leave, now!"

"What?" asked 18. "Why the sudden concern, Trunks?"

"Because," said Trunks. "I care a lot more about keeping the world safe from Cell than beating you two." Cell was moving slowly forward, hampered by Trunks's constant attacks.

"What are you talking about!?" exclaimed 17. "We aren't leaving until you tell us what's going on!"

"Then help me keep him back!" exclaimed Trunks. He had wiped the floor with Cell the first time. He knew he must have missed a part of him, or Cell wouldn't be here. Unfortunately, Trunks knew that Cell had some Saiyan DNA in him. If Trunks's attack had brought him near death last time, Cell must be much more powerful now.

To Trunks's surprise, 17 and 18 actually started blasting at Cell.All three of them hit him at the same time, causing a small, powerful explosion. Cell's body, torn in two, was buried underneath rubble. They didn't have much time before he regenerated.

"Now explain," said 17. The fact that there was a third party after the Androids and an enemy of Trunks was the signal for a cease-fire.

"Cell," explained Trunks, walking over to where they stood, "Is Dr. Gero's ultimate creation. He was created to be the perfect living weapon. Right now, he's in his most imperfect state."

"Why is he after us?" asked 18.

"You guys," said Trunks, "Are the keys to his power. He wants to absorb you two-"

"Absorb us!?" exclaimed 17. Trunks nodded.

"Yes," he said. "If he does that, he'll attain his perfect form. At that point, he'll be unstoppable." Something about the look in Trunks's eyes gave the Androids no room for doubt. "So as much as I hate you, I have to ask you guys to go now and hide somewhere."

"Yeah right," said 18. "We don't run."

"You don't understand!" exclaimed Trunks. "Cell was designed to be able to overpower both of you! If he absorbs one of you, I still might be able to take him, but if you try standing your ground he'll get both of you! I won't be able to stop him then, and we'll all be doomed!"

"We'll already be inside him," said 17. "We'd already be doomed."

"Not necessarily," said Trunks. "The last time I fought Cell, he got punched so hard that he actually spit up... someone he'd absorbed." Trunks didn't have time to tell the whole story, so he gave only necessary details.

"So let me get this straight," said 18. "You actually want us to listen to you, and run away. Even though if we run away, you'll have once again failed to kill us." Trunks nodded.

"If I killed you," said Trunks, "Then he might still-" He was cut off by an explosion.

"Aaah!" exclaimed Cell, bursting from the ground. "There you are! Come here Seventeen and Eighteen. Make it easier for yourselves." He charged forward, only to be shot out of the sky by three simultaneous attacks.

"We've got to go!" exclaimed Trunks. "Now!"

"If you're so strong," said 18, "Why don't you just kill him all the way, Trunks!?"

"Because," answered Trunks. "I don't have enough energy left to pull off a big enough attack to stop him. If I hadn't wasted my time and energy fighting you two without charging up, we wouldn't be in any trouble at all. As it is, I tried to prove I could beat you without going Super Saiyan." Cell got up, only to get shot down once more. "We have to leave now!" The two Androids were silent for a moment.

"I think Trunks might be right," said 18, "As much as I hate to say it. We should probably go Seventeen." She turned to fly away. Trunks did likewise. However, 17 stayed where he was. He then took a few steps forward. Trunks and 18 turned around.

"What are you doing!?" exclaimed Trunks as Cell got up.

"I'm staying," said 17, blasting Cell's head off. Trunks and 18 landed as Cell's headless body hit the floor.

"You can't!" exclaimed 18. "We need to get away from that thing and figure out how to kill it! We can-"

"Eighteen!" said 17, forcefully. "Hear me out. Unlike you two, I've thought this through. Look at how fast Cell is regenerating. If we all ran away, he could follow us easy. And I'm sure he could eventually catch us. One of us has to stay here and hold him off. Trunks can't, because if what he says is true, he's the only person here capable of killing this thing. If he dies, we're screwed. I'm the only one that can-"

"I'm just as strong as you!" exclaimed 18, blasting at Cell's reforming head. "I can-"

"No!" exclaimed 17, silencing her. "No. Eighteen, please listen to me. I'd rather that thing got me than you. I'll hold him off, and you two run." He looked at Trunks. "You said you could take him if he absorbed me, right?" Trunks nodded.

"I'm pretty sure I can," he said.

"Well use the time I give you to make sure you can," said 17. "If you can still take him, then it's no problem."

"S...Seventeen..." said 18 quietly. 17 turned around and placed a hand on 18's shoulder, and another on her cheek.

"Eighteen," he said. "You're my sister. I won't let him get you. I'm not going to let anything get you. Not again." He looked into her eyes. "Now, go." Cell got up.

"How touching," he said. "A lovely little moment between siblings. Don't worry. After I absorb you, you can always be together." 17 turned back to face Cell. He cracked his neck.

"You want her?" asked 17. "You're gonna have to get through me."

"It's on my to-do list," grinned Cell. Trunks made to fly away, but 18 just stood there.

"Come on!" exclaimed Trunks, grabbing 18's wrist. "He's giving us time! Let's go!" Cell looked up at them.

"No!" he exclaimed. "You're not going anywhere!" he charged up a Ki blast and aimed for Trunks and 18. 17 was suddenly in front of him. He palmed Cell in the face, sending him flying backwards.

"I said, if you want them, you're going to have to go through me." 17 walked towards Cell. "Just because you were designed to be stronger than me, doesn't mean I can't put up a good fight." He took a quick look back at 18. She was looking at him. He gave a small smile. He turned back to face Cell once more.

18 looked back at her twin. "Seventeen," she said softly. Trunks flew faster, trying not to look back at the Android-turned-hero of the hour. He had never expected any kind of self sacrifice from either Android. 17 was about to fight a battle that he knew he couldn't win, but he was going to anyway. It was just like... No. 17 could never be like **him**. He could never be like Gohan.

Trunks lent every bit of energy he could to his speed, putting as much distance between 18 and Cell as possible. Behind him, he could sense the intense fight taking place. He could only hope that 17 would be able to provide them with enough time.

888

A good half hour later, they landed in a forest. Trunks let go of 18, who immediately slapped him. She slapped him hard enough to send him into a tree. She grabbed his shirt and picked him up, slamming him against the tree once more. Trunks looked at her, and saw something he'd never expected to see. There were tears in 18's eyes.

"Why!?" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you talk him out of it!? You set yourself up to be some big-shot hero, and you can't save my brother!?" Trunks looked her dead in the eye. This new display of emotion changed nothing in his opinion towards her, or her brother. No matter how human she looked right now, she was still a monster, and needed to be treated as such.

"He knew what he was getting into," he said. "He sacrificed himself so that I could get you away from Cell. And I've fought you, Seventeen, and Cell before."

"Does he have a chance then?" asked 18, getting right in Trunks's face.

"No," said Trunks flatly. "He can't possibly win." 18 dropped Trunks in shock.

"Then why even say anything?" she asked.

"Because," said Trunks. "Having fought both of them, I know that 17 can hold his own for quite a while. We need to keep moving."

"Then why did you stop flying?" asked 18.

"Because," said Trunks, powering down to normal. "Cell can sense Ki energy like I can. Right now, any Energy that Seventeen uses is going to cover up our energy. But, Seventeen can't last much longer. I have to power down, and neither of us can fly or use Ki at all, or Cell could sense it. We'll have to continue on foot." 18 wiped the tears from her eyes. In an instant, she was back to her old self.

"What do you mean 'we'?" asked 18. "Why should I come with you?"

"Because," said Trunks. "It's one of the two choices I'm giving you." 18 looked puzzled, yet still defiant. "The other choice is that I kill you right here, right now." 18's eyes widened.

"And what makes you think-"

"Believe me," said Trunks, cutting her off. "I can kill you. If that's my only option to keep Cell from getting more powerful, I will. However, I'll have to find somewhere to put your body."

"Why?" asked 18.

"Because," said Trunks, "Like I was saying before in the city: If I kill you, he can still probably absorb your dead body. He'll get his perfect form anyway, and killing you would have been a waste of time."

"So," said 18, "You're saying I'm stuck with you because otherwise you'll kill me?"

"Not just that," said Trunks. "It breaks down like this. With you alive and with me, I'll always know where you're at. If Cell manages to find us, I'll be able to fight him."

"You could still do that with me dead though," said 18, angry that she was actually talking along his terms.

"Not exactly," said Trunks. "If worst comes to worst, you'll have to help me fight him. I'll need you alive for that." 18 digested all of this information. So, she was stuck with Trunks now? That was wrong on so many levels. Trunks hated her with every fiber of his being. Or did he? "And make no mistake," said Trunks, "The only, I mean the **only** reason you're still alive, is because I'm not going to let Cell get what he wants. Otherwise, you'd be dead right now." Yep. He only hated her.

18 glared at him. It was a horrible ultimatum. But, if she wanted to stay alive she'd have to go along with it. And she had to stay alive to get revenge on Cell. "Fine," said 18. "We'll work together for now."

"Agreed," nodded Trunks. "Now let's get moving. I recognize this forest. There's a town not too far away from here. We can get there tomorrow if we walk until sundown. We can get a car and keep moving from there."

"Where are we headed?" asked 18.

"To my hometown," said Trunks. "And to Capsule Corp."

888

17 hit the side of the building hard. Cell was on him in an instant, grabbing his throat. They'd fought for a half hour non-stop. 17 had never seen anything so powerful! Except for maybe Trunks. Cell laughed as his hand tightened around 17's throat. 17 grabbed Cell's arm, attempting to get Cell to release his hold.

"Foolish Android," said Cell. "Stop struggling." Cell raised up his tail. The needle-like point on the end expanded to a hole large enough to swallow 17. "It'll all be over soon."

"Agh!" yelled 17, throwing up an energy field and blasting Cell off of him. 17 coughed. This was it. He couldn't hold Cell off any longer. He was far too damaged. "Eighteen..." he said softly. "At least you got away." Cell rose up in front of 17. 17 smirked, defiant to the end. "I told you Cell, I wouldn't go without a fight. But you know what the best part is?"

"What?" asked Cell, preparing to absorb 17.

"Heh," laughed 17. "You have no idea where they went." Cell's eyes widened in realization. "And neither do I. Even if you get me, I'm still the real winner here."

"Rrrrggg," growled Cell. "NOOO!" His tail changed back to needle form and he stabbed 17 through the stomach. He pulled 17 close. "Make no mistake, boy," Cell hissed. "I will find your sister, and that purple-haired nuisance. And I will kill them both. Then I will absorb her, and gain perfection." 17 coughed up blood. It sounded like he was trying to say something. "What was that?" Cell asked tauntingly. 17 spit blood in Cell's face.

"His name is Trunks," smiled 17, a small amount of blood trickling from his mouth. "Get his name right." Cell snarled and flicked 17 off of his tail. He then opened the end of his tail up, and began absorbing 17.

888

Trunks stopped dead in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" asked 18.

"I just felt a huge surge of power," said Trunks. "Cell is now in his second form." 18 froze. That meant that 17 was... "We have to keep moving," said Trunks. "Let's go." 18 followed, too shocked to do anything else. She knew that 17 had gone into a fight he would lose. But... this meant that was it for him. He was gone.

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I feel terrible. I accidentally make 17 a total badass in my mind, and then I kill him. Well, that was chapter 2. Tell me what you think.

They may have been a bit OOC in this chapter, but I'm not sure. I think that 17 would have done something like that had the situation presented itself in the series. I think he would have sacrificed himself for 18's sake. I mean, they are twins after all. And I think 18 cared about him a lot as well. Again, they were twins.

And although 17 is gone, he'll still play an important role in the story. We'll just have to wait and see what it is.

Stay tuned for the next chapter.


	3. on the run

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z, just this story.

Author's note: Alright! The last chapter was so much better than the first, in a lot of ways. Now, to chapter three. How will Trunks and 18 fair without using their powers? What makes Trunks so sure 18 will do what he says? And how will they go ten seconds without trying to kill each other? Read on and find out.

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"Ugh," groaned 18, "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Yes," said Trunks. "I know exactly where I'm going."

"We've been walking for hours," said 18.

"And I said we wouldn't get to a town until at least tomorrow," said Trunks. "Stop complaining." 18 shook her head. She wasn't at all confident in Trunks's navigational abilities. She could swear that they'd passed the same tree at least twice. In fact, she was completely convinced that they were walking in circles.

"Are you absolutely-"

"Yes!" Trunks cut in. "I know where I'm going! Right now, I'm trying to find a good place to camp for the night. Preferably somewhere deep inside the forest, where the trees and bushes grow the thickest." They kept walking. 18 watched as the sun slowly sank behind the trees, and the sky began turning red. It was almost sundown. 18 had never really stopped to watch a sunset before. She was watching now, and it surprised her. It actually looked really pretty. She was shaken from her thoughts by Trunks's voice. "Did you hear me?" he asked. "I said I found a place to camp."

"I heard you," answered 18. "I'm coming." She walked over to where she had heard Trunks's voice coming from. She found him, and he was... digging. "What are you doing?"

"Digging a hole," stated Trunks. 18 blinked.

"I can see that," said 18. "I meant, 'why are you digging a hole?'"

"Oh," said Trunks. "Because, I'd be a lot more comfortable in a hidden camp-site than an open one." 18 looked a little bit confused, so Trunks kept explaining. "I'm going to dig out a shallow hole, and cover it with bushes. We'll sleep under there, and be totally hidden. If by some chance Cell were to pass by the forest, he wouldn't be able to find us. Provided, of course, that we don't use any Ki."

"Oh," said 18. "I see. But, uh, what makes you think that I won't use Ki, huh?"

"Well," answered Trunks, who stopped digging and looked at 18, "This is what makes me think you won't use Ki. If you try to fly, I won't hesitate to blow you out of the sky. If you try blasting, I'll blast back. Basically, if you do anything Ki related, I will retaliate and stop you. If it comes to it, I'll just kill you." 18 thought about it for a moment.

"Oh," she said, cursing her position, "You're good. You've thought everything through, haven't you?" Trunks nodded his head, and got back to digging. 18 leaned against a tree and watched him work. Progress was going a bit too slow for her liking. After looking around for a bit, she finally swallowed her pride and asked, "Do you need any help?" The question stopped Trunks completely. He blinked several times. "What?"

"Did you just offer to help me?" asked Trunks.

"Yeah," said 18, "So what? You're making us a place to sleep, and I want it done faster so that I **can** sleep."

"If you really wanna help," said Trunks, "Go get some bushes and leaves and stuff to help cover this up." 18 nodded and went to go find some bushes. Trunks went back to his work. He still had his natural Saiyan strength, but he had to dig slowly and carefully. He had to be careful not to mess anything up. Their hiding place had to look like a natural part of the forest. 18 was soon back with a good amount of plant-life. "Good timing," said Trunks. "I'm just about done." He added a few finishing touches, and then started putting the bushes in place. He took a step back and looked at his handy work. It was camouflaged very well.

"Not bad," said 18. "This might actually work." It was designed in such a way that the hole Trunks had dug (about 2 feet deep and 6 feet long by 5 feet wide) was covered by the bushes. The bushes around the edge supported the ones covering the middle section of the hole. Also, 18 had managed to find very large bushes.

"Just to make sure," said Trunks, "You didn't get all of these bushes from the same spot, right?"

"No," said 18. "What kind of idiot do you think I am? I'm not the outdoor, foresty type, but even I know not to do that. That would look way too odd if there was a big patch of ground that looked like stuff had been torn out."

"Just making sure," repeated Trunks. He crawled in under the bushes. "I'll take first watch. I'll wake you in a couple of hours for your shift."

"Whatever," said 18, crawling in after him.

888

Trunks was the first one up the next morning. He blinked a few times, gathering his thoughts. He was on the run with Android 18, trying to protect her from Cell, and therefor protect the world from a Cell he couldn't stop. He shook his head. 'My life sucks,' he thought. He looked over at 18, who was still sleeping. Before last night, he hadn't actually known that she **could** sleep. While it had surprised him, it hadn't made her seem any more human to him at all. She was still a city-destroying, mass-murdering monster as far as he was concerned.

She suddenly started talking in her sleep. "No," she said, "No, leave me alone..." she turned over, continuing to talk. "No... go away..." she turned over again. "Get away... brother... help... No!" She sat up, wide awake. She was breathing heavily. She looked over and saw Trunks staring at her. "What are you looking at?" she asked.

"...Nothing," answered Trunks. **That** had been strange. He didn't think she could dream either. She was an Android, right? Trunks shook his head and got up. He put his jacket on and exited the hiding spot. 18 got out as well, putting her denim vest back on.

"Where to now?" asked 18.

"This way," said Trunks, starting to walk. They went a good distance before 18 started complaining again. Only this time, it was about something Trunks added to his list of things he hadn't known about her.

They were walking along, when all of a sudden 18 said, "I'm hungry." Trunks stopped dead in his tracks.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm hungry," she repeated. "I haven't had anything to eat since yesterday."

"You eat?" asked Trunks.

"I have a stomach you know," said 18, angrily. "You've kicked it before, remember?"

"Well yeah, It's just..."

"Just what?"

"...I didn't realize you could eat." 18 looked at him, narrowing her eyes.

"You really don't know anything about me, do you?" she asked.

"Sure I do," said Trunks. "You're an Android, you like to kill people, you like to destroy cities for fun, you killed my father and my mentor... What's not to know?" 18 gritted her teeth.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" she said. "Just shut up." Trunks looked at her for a second, then sighed.

"Fine," said Trunks, "Sorry I said anything. We're not gonna get anywhere if we keep going for each other's throats. I won't mention that stuff anymore, alright?"

"Good," said 18, crossing her arms. They were silent for a moment. The silence was broken by a strange sound. It was 18's stomach growling. She blushed. Trunks raised an eyebrow.

"I'll go get us some food then," he said. He went into the trees, looking for something to eat. He found several bushes with berries, as well as some herbs and mushrooms he knew to be edible. 'Good thing Gohan gave me some survival training,' he thought. 'If he hadn't, I probably would have picked something poisonous by accident.' As it was, everything he had found was safe to eat. He took off his jacket and tied it into a sack. He put everything he had gathered into it and walked back to where he'd left 18.

18 had sat down, and was just waiting for him to get back. 'Not being able to fly sucks,' she thought. 'And being stuck with Trunks is no better. He keeps bringing up everything I've ever done wrong. He needs to just-' Trunks's arrival cut into her thoughts.

"Here's breakfast," said Trunks, setting his jacket down. 18 frowned when she saw what was inside.

"That's it?" she asked.

"That's all I could find," said Trunks, grabbing a handful of berries. "Come lunch time, I should be able to find something better. We'll be in more heavily populated animal territory at that point. I might be able to catch something good. Like a deer, or-"

"A deer!" exclaimed 18. "You're joking right?" Trunks didn't answer (due to his shock at her reaction) which prompted 18 to keep going. "No. No way. I am not going to let you kill a deer, Trunks, no way." Trunks tried to hold his laughter. "Go out and kill a bear or something, but I'm not eating deer meat." She noticed Trunks's face. "What?"

"You," said Trunks, trying not to laugh. "Somehow, I hadn't seen you as the type who loves deer."

"They're cute," grumbled 18. "Sure, I've done a lot of bad stuff. But I never added animal cruelty to the list." Trunks just shook his head in disbelief and kept eating. They saved some of the berries for lunch, in case Trunks couldn't find anything else. They also saved the mushrooms. However, the herbs brought up a question. "Why do you have those?" 18 asked.

"Just in case," said Trunks. "If I catch anything to eat-" 18 glared at him "-that isn't a deer, I can use the herbs to give it some flavor." 18 smirked. "What?"

"Somehow," said 18, mimicking what Trunks had said earlier, "I hadn't seen you as the type who knew how to cook."

"Well," said Trunks, defensively, "I can."

"Calm down," said 18. "No need to get all offended." They continued walking in silence. Having agreed not to bring up his list of grievances against 18 and her brother, Trunks had nothing else to talk about to help pass the time. Luckily, 18 came up with something. "Hey, Trunks?" she asked.

"Hm?"

"How did you know all of that stuff about Cell?" asked 18. "It sounded like you knew everything about him."

"Well," said Trunks, "I pretty much do. It's a long story though."

"Well," said 18, "It's a long walk through the forest too, and anything is better than this little awkward silence we've got going on."

"True," said Trunks. "Alright then, I'll tell you. It started when I went back to the past."

"Huh?"

"My mom built a time machine so that I could go back in time to give him a cure," said Trunks. "He was going to die of a heart disease before you and your brother showed up."

"Who's 'him'?" asked 18.

"Goku," answered Trunks.

"Goku?" asked 18. "That's why he wasn't around? He died of a heart disease?" Trunks nodded. "Wow," she said. "My brother and I were supposed to kill Goku. That's why we were made like this."

"And when he wasn't around," said Trunks, "You decided to take out everyone else. And then, you kept having your 'fun' by destroying cities. Am I right?" 18 glared at him.

"Right," she said slowly. "Now keep going with your story."

"Anyway," continued Trunks, "I went back in time and gave Goku the cure, and then warned him about you Androids, to try and stop you two from destroying the world in the present. When I came back, it had been three years, and two different Androids appeared. Androids Nineteen and Twenty, or, rather, Nineteen and Dr. Gero."

"Dr. Gero?" asked 18. "But, he activated Seventeen and I, and then we-"

"Killed him, yeah," interrupted Trunks. "Same thing happened to the one in the past. Somehow, my coming back to the past had triggered some kind of chain reaction that changed certain events." Trunks continued telling 18 the story, not sparing many details.

They stopped to have lunch after a while. However, as soon as Trunks put his jacket on the ground, a duck rushed over, ate their remaining berries, and took off. Both Trunks and 18 stared after the duck in disbelief. Trunks turned to look at 18.

"I'm thinking duck for lunch," he said. "Any objections?"

"None at all," said 18.

888

As it was, Trunks had a few capsules with him. One was empty, and one had some cooking supplies in it. It had been Trunks's turn to make lunch for the workers, so he had brought cooking supplies with him. He found some water in a nearby stream, which is where he decided to have lunch.

"Smells good," said 18, looking at the cooking pot.

"It'll taste good too," said Trunks, "And then you'll see why I saved those herbs."

"You're not worried that a fire would attract attention?" asked 18.

"Nope," said Trunks. "It's high noon, and it hasn't rained recently. The wood is perfectly dry, and isn't giving off any smoke, and the light from the fire shouldn't be noticeable."

"Sounds like you really know what you're doing," said 18. Trunks nodded.

"Gohan taught me some survival techniques, same as his master taught him."

"Who was his master?" asked 18.

"Piccolo," said Trunks.

"The Namekian?" asked 18. Trunks nodded. He decided, as part of his earlier agreement, not to bring up the fact that she and 17 had killed Piccolo too. He concentrated on making lunch.

"It's just about done," said Trunks. He gave 18 a bowl. They each dished up a bowl of duck soup and started eating. 18 was pleasantly surprised by the taste.

"You really **can** cook," she said, her tone denoting that she enjoyed the food.

"It's really nothing," said Trunks. "It's just some duck, with the herbs and mushrooms I found."

"It's really good though," said 18. "Especially since you made it with almost no ingredients. You're a really good chef." Trunks felt his face heating up.

"Uh, thanks," said Trunks. He'd just had a pleasant conversation with 18. How did that happen? 18 seemed to notice something was wrong too, as she stopped eating. "This conversation never happened," said Trunks.

"Agreed," said 18. As totally messed up as complimenting Trunks had been, 18 had meant it. Trunks was a good cook. Trunks had his own thoughts on the matter.

'She's only being nice to me because I'm feeding her,' said Trunks. 'I can't let myself forget that. And what was that anyway? Did I actually blush when she commented me? Disgusting.' They continued eating in silence. When they were done, Trunks packed his stuff back into the capsule and they started moving again.

"We should make it into town by nightfall," said Trunks. "We'll be able to get a real dinner, and hopefully a place to stay for the night. Tomorrow, we can probably find a car or something."

"Where are we headed, anyway?" asked 18. "After this town you keep talking about, that is."

"Home," said Trunks. "I need to get back to Capsule Corp. My mom will have some stuff that I'll need to use to get ready to fight Cell." 18 left it at that. She wasn't exactly looking forward to meeting Trunks's mother. She'd killed the woman's husband after all. She put it in the back of her mind.

"Well," said 18, "Keep going with your story. You were at the part where Dr. Gero was about to activate my brother and I." Trunks nodded and started telling the story.

"Well," he said, "He activated you two, only to have you turn on him. Which, in hindsight, can be counted as a good deed. You two then activated another Android. Android Sixteen."

"Sixteen?" asked 18. "I don't remember that one."

"You don't?" asked Trunks. "You guys must not have seen him when you killed Gero." He went on to describe 16. 18 was shocked to hear of his nature.

"So you're saying that while 16 was gigantic and apparently more powerful than my brother and I, he was nonviolent?" Trunks nodded.

"He would rather go bird-watching than throw a punch," said Trunks. "He had a real connection with animals. Kinda like you, come to think of it."

"What do you mean?"

"The deer thing," explained Trunks.

"Of," said 18. Trunks continued his story. It wasn't long before they reached the town Trunks had been talking about. 18 was surprised. They had come out of the forest, and reached a desert. The town they had come to was small. There were only a few buildings. Thankfully, one of them was an Inn.

"We'll be staying there tonight," said Trunks. "Oh, and let me do the talking, alright?"

"Right," said 18, fairly sure that the locals wouldn't take kindly to her asking for a place to stay. That was the only benefit to being with Trunks at the moment. They walked into town and then entered the Inn. It was almost dark, so there weren't many people out.

"Welcome," said the man behind the counter in the lobby. His thin mustache and black suit made him look somewhat like a butler. "How may I help you two this evening."

"We need a place to stay," said Trunks, "And something to eat if it's not to much trouble."

"Of course sir," said the man, in a refined manner. "Will you be sharing a room, or-"

"No!" exclaimed Trunks and 18 at once, catching the man off guard.

"Terribly sorry," said the man. "You looked like such a lovely couple, I thought you two were together." Trunks shook his head vigorously, and 18 shuddered at the thought.

"That's alright," said Trunks, "We all make mistakes. But, if you don't mind, I kind of need a room setup where I can still, you know, keep tabs on her." The man raised an eyebrow in confusion. "It's a complex situation," said Trunks. The man seemed to accept this.

"Well," he said, "We do have a room reserved for large parties. It has two rooms in it, as well as a shower."

"A shower!" exclaimed 18. "Finally!" Both Trunks and the man looked at her. She blinked and looked back at them. "What? We've been hiking through the woods all day. I want a shower." She wrinkled her nose. "And you could use one too Trunks."

"I'm inclined to agree with the lady," said the man, as politely as he could. Trunks sighed.

"Whatever," he said. "How much is the room going to cost?"

"For one night?" asked the man. Trunks nodded his head. "1,000 zenie."

"Not bad," said Trunks. "I figured it'd be a lot more." He started digging in his pocket for his money.

"We usually charge extra for more people for that room," said the man, "But seeing as there are only two of you, there's really no point." Trunks nodded in agreement and paid the man.

"You had money with you too?" asked 18.

"Yeah," said Trunks. "I always have some just in case." He turned back to the man. "And does that cover dinner and breakfast."

"Yes."

"Good," said Trunks. "You know, you seem awfully calm considering everything."

"What do you mean?" asked the man.

"Have you been watching the news?" asked Trunks. The man shook his head no.

"Not really," said the man. We don't get much news here. This is a very small town. No one bothers to come here except travelers like yourselves."

"Oh," said Trunks. "Never mind then." The man pointed them in the direction of the dining area.

"It's true you know," said 18. "This is a small town. My brother and I never even saw this place. We pretty much flew right past it."

"That would explain the lack of shock at seeing you here," said Trunks. "But it's not going to be this easy all the time. We're eventually going to pass through some larger cities, and someone is bound to recognize you."

"We'll get to that when we get to it," said 18. Trunks nodded, and they went off to get dinner.

888

Trunks was laying down in bed. After eating a good meal and taking a shower, he was ready to sleep. Something was bugging him though. The entire day, 18 had been doing things that were completely human. She was an Android, right? If she were a real Android like 16 or 19, she shouldn't need to eat, bathe, sleep or anything like that. Did that mean she wasn't a completely mechanized Android? Was she actually human with robotic parts? Trunks shook his head. It didn't matter, did it? 18 was still an Android, and still a monster. While there had been times during the day where he'd ignored or forgot that, it changed nothing. He turned over and went to sleep.

18, meanwhile, had just finished showering. She dried her hair and wrapped the towel around herself. 'Stupid Trunks,' she thought, stepping out of the bathroom. 'He doesn't know the first thing about me. He took the title Android way to literally. Whatever. His ignorance isn't my problem. At least now he knows that I have to eat just like he does.' She sighed. Tomorrow would be another day. Another day with Trunks, sure, but still another day. A fresh start.

She got ready for bed. Tomorrow, they'd hopefully be able to get a car or a truck or something. Not being able to fly really sucked, but she knew it was for her own good. She got into bed and pulled the sheets over herself. Yes. Tomorrow would be a new day.

888

Cell looked at the moon. He would find 18 and Trunks. Unfortunately, without being able to sense their Ki, he had no idea where to start. He didn't know anything about Trunks. He didn't know where he lived, who his friends were, nothing. He had no leads. The only thing he had to go on was the certainty that they'd been heading north. What was the furthest thing away from this city to the north? He'd work on it tomorrow. Today, he had to prepare. He would get them soon enough.

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Ta-da! Chapter 3, done. It's a bit shorter than the last one, but that's probably do to the fact that there was no fight scene. Anyway, tell me what you think about it.

I had to be careful with the Zenie. It took a good deal of guess-work, but i think i was accurate. 1,000 Zenie should be like 100 dollars or something, if I'm right.

So, Trunks and 18 managed to survive an entire day without fighting each other. They still clearly hate each other, but at least they're smart enough to work together when necessary. And, oh no, Cell is plotting away. Where will he go next? Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out!


	4. road trip

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z, just this story. I also don't own the song lyrics found in this chapter (they'll be italicized).

Author's note: Chapter 4 already? I'm on fire! Which is good. I've felt that the characters have been a bit OOC, but then I started thinking about it. Regular time line 18 married Krillin. So, unlikely romance isn't too OOC for her. And, if done right, OOC is character development in my opinion. But only if done gradually. I'm going to try harder to keep them as in character as I can. But remember, this is DBZ. Weird stuff's gonna happen no matter what.

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Trunks was up bright and early the next morning. He waited outside the door to 18's room. He had told her to set the alarm clock in the room for 7:30. He wanted to get as early a start as possible while also trying to get in as much necessary sleep as possible. He stood there for a few minutes, looking around. It was a nice room. This place had clearly been untouched by the troubles the world had experienced the last several years. While it was impossible for the townsfolk not to know what had been happening, it was easy to imagine that they hadn't ever seen any of the Androids themselves.

Trunks's thoughts were interrupted by sounds emitting from 18's room. He pressed his ear against the door. It was 18.

"No..." she said. "Leave me alone... go away... no... brother, help me! Ahh!" At the sound of her scream, Trunks opened the door and rushed in. 18 sat straight up in bed. Trunks blinked, and then his face turned beet-red. 18 looked at him for a second, and then scowled and blushed at the same time. She grabbed her sheets and pulled them up to cover her chest.

"Get out!" she yelled. Trunks quickly closed the door and moved away.

'That was more of Eighteen than I needed to see,' he thought. 18 came out of her room a few minutes afterwards, putting her vest on. She glared at him. "If you ever tell anyone what just happened, I swear I will-"

"Trust me," said Trunks, throwing up his hands. "I'm trying to forget it myself."

"What?" asked 18, "Do I really look that bad?" Trunks blinked again, blushing. He shook his head quickly.

"That's besides the point," he said.

"What were you doing barging into my room anyway?" asked 18.

"I heard you talking, and it sounded like there was someone in there attacking you or something," said Trunks. 18 raised an eyebrow. "I think you might have been talking in your sleep."

"So that allows you to just come in?" she asked, getting right up in his face

"No!" exclaimed Trunks. "I just went on instinct, okay? I thought you might have been in trouble, so I was obligated to protect you, seeing as how the only way you **could** have been in trouble is if Cell had been in your room.."

"Oh," said 18, calming down. It was surprising to hear that Trunks had been concerned in any way at all.

"Besides," said Trunks, "How was I supposed to know that you slept without any... y'know-"

"I took a shower last night," said 18. "Normally I put something on before I go to bed, but I was tired from hiking through the woods all day, okay?" There was an awkward silence. 18 broke it a moment later. "So again, if you tell anyone-"

"My lips are sealed," said Trunks. "Let's just go down and get breakfast." 18 followed Trunks downstairs, still in a foul mood.

'Trunks had better find a nice car to borrow,' she thought. 'I am not about to ride in some piece of junk.'

888

18's jaw dropped. "This was all you could find!?"

"What?" asked Trunks, patting the hood of the rusty looking old truck. He smiled. "This is a good truck, an old one. It was built to last."

"Yeah," said 18, "Built to last a hundred years ago."

"Hey," said Trunks, getting serious, "This thing is reliable, okay? If you don't wanna ride in it, you can just walk." 18 sighed. She really had no choice. "And look on the bright side."

"What bright side?" asked 18.

"We don't have to return it," explained Trunks. "I bought it from the guy cheap. He said he didn't really need a truck anymore. And he even through in a tarp to cover the back if it rains."

"Is there another bright side?" asked 18.

"Yes," said Trunks. "Do you really think anyone's going to give such an old truck a second glance? Someone like Cell, for instance?" Realization dawned on 18.

"Oh," she said placing a hand on her chin in thought, "That's actually pretty smart. You're just full of surprises, aren't you Trunks?" Trunks shrugged his shoulders.

"We should probably get going." he said. 18 nodded in agreement. They got in the truck and started off. To 18's surprise, the truck ran quite smoothly. Her surprise must have showed, because Trunks smirked. "Told you."

"Alright, alright," said 18. "You were right about the truck." She noticed that agreeing with Trunks had become slightly less difficult. She wasn't sure wether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

They rode in silence for a while, Trunks keeping his eyes on the road and 18 just watching the landscape roll by through her open window. The desert was actually a nice change of scenery after spending an entire day in a forest. 18 had never really spent that long in any one place, as she hadn't had to walk everywhere in a long time. She eventually started looking around the inside of the truck. To her surprise, there was a radio. She wondered if it worked, and went to turn it on.

Trunks, alerted by the sudden noise, turned to look at 18. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Checking to see if the radio works, duh," said 18. "I'm bored. I wanna see if there's any good music playing."

"What kind of music do you like?" asked Trunks, not believing that he cared enough to ask.

"Rock," said 18, "Punk, alternative, stuff like that."

"How about country?" asked Trunks.

"Tsh, no," said 18. "... yes."

"Ha," laughed Trunks.

"Shut up," said 18. "Everyone likes country, they just don't want to admit it."

"Whatever you say," said Trunks, shaking his head. They were silent for a second. "Did we just have a pleasant conversation?"

"Yeah," said 18, with a degree of uncertainty in her voice.

"That's a little too weird for me," said Trunks.

"That's the one thing we can agree on without it being totally messed up," replied 18. Trunks shook his head.

"How is it that we can possibly just talk like this?" asked Trunks.

"Not sure," said 18. "Maybe it's because this is the longest amount of time we've spent in each other's presence without trying to kill each other."

"Maybe."

"It could also be because we're on the run together."

"It's a possibility."

"Or, it could be because we've spent over 24 hours working together." Trunks nodded. 18 continued, "So basically, because we've spent this much time together without violence, actual conversations are possible."

"Huh," said Trunks. "...Basically, this is all Cell's fault. Our lives have pretty much taken a turn for the weird because of him." 18 nodded.

"I'll add that to my list of things I have against him," she said. "And put it on my to-do list. Item one, kill Cell for screwing up my life."

"Is that it?" asked Trunks. 18 shook her head.

"Item 2, kill Trunks if possible," said 18.

"That's real nice," said Trunks.

"Hey," retorted 18, "You know you still wanna kill me. It's only fair that I want to kill you too."

"I guess," said Trunks. "We are enemies, after all." He was glad 18 hadn't forgotten that. He was also sure she knew that he only told her the story of his adventures in the past to help pass the time. He had no problem telling her about the time machine. After all, he'd destroyed it. And 18 wasn't really a threat to him anymore. He knew it, and was sure she knew it.

18 went back to fiddling with the radio. She was about to give up, when she suddenly found something interesting.

"The green monster that was attacking the city two days ago has somehow changed shape. However, he has not moved from his spot on top of a recently rebuilt tower in all this time. It is unknown what he wants or why he continues to- oh wait! He has just flown up into the air! He seems to be heading due north for some reason. Stay tuned for further updates as they happen." Trunks and 18 looked at each other.

"Step on it," said 18. Trunks nodded, and floored it.

"Why north?" asked Trunks. "Is that the direction we took off in?"

"I think so," said 18, her voice competing with the roar of the engine and the rushing wind. "But I think we started heading east once we hit the forest."

"We're going northeast now," said Trunks. "If he keeps heading north he'll miss us completely. But we still need to put as much distance between us and him as possible."

"Agreed," replied 18. She suddenly had a thought. "I just had an idea!"

"What?"

"If he gets close enough, you'll probably sense him right?"

"Yeah," said Trunks.

"Keep going this fast until you sense him," said 18. "If he just goes on out of range, we'll be safe. Trunks nodded. It was a good idea. He couldn't keep up this speed forever. As well-built as the truck was, it could only keep a high speed for so long before overheating.

888

Cell was flying over the mountains now. He had passed over a forest earlier, and he could sense what was probably a small town to the east. However, all he sensed were normal people. He didn't sense a Saiyan or an Android anywhere. Of course, he really couldn't sense Androids that well. A flaw in his design. He was sure that if there were other Androids around after he achieved his perfect form, he could sense them.

He landed in the mountains, trying to decide where to go next. Trunks and 18 had very well given him the slip. He grimaced. Those two. He would catch them eventually. But where to go next?

'They obviously wanted to put distance between themselves and me,' thought Cell. 'They're obviously so far away that I can't feel them. I doubt they stopped for anything, so I'll have to keep going north. They can't run forever!' With that thought in mind, Cell took off full speed towards the north.

888

Trunks felt a huge surge of power behind them, but it soon passed. He breathed a sigh of relief. "We're safe," he said, slowing down to a normal speed.

"Good," said 18. She started with the radio again. "There's gotta be some decent music on here somewhere," she grumbled. Suddenly, she found something and stopped on it.

"_Why give up, why give in? It's not enough, it never is. But I will go on until the end! We've become, desolate. It's not enough, it never is. But I will go on until the end!_"

"Awesome!" exclaimed 18. "I love this song!" Trunks looked at her.

"You do?" he asked, clearly confused.

"What?" asked 18. "This song is cool, okay? Why is it that every time I do something remotely human, you act so surprised?"

"You honestly don't know?" asked Trunks, anger detectable in his voice. "You're an Android who's been on a killing spree for my entire life! You aren't human at all! You're a mechanical monster!"

"You don't know the first thing about me!" shot back 18, offended. "For your information, my brother and I weren't always like this. We were sompletely human once, you know."

"You... you were?" asked Trunks.

"Yes," said 18, "What are you, stupid? Have you noticed that all of the androids that were purely mechanical had something about them that made them really stand out from other people? You told me about Sixteen and Nineteen. Nineteen had paper-white skin acording to you, and Sixteen was a giant with a red Mohawk. I'm willing to bet both of them had mechanical sounding voices, too. If you didn't know we were Androids, wouldn't Seventeen and I look like normal people? Don't you think we'd blend into a crowd?" Trunks was silent for a moment. He hadn't known any of that, and he hadn't really cared to think about it.

"I... I guess so," said Trunks. "I didn't know you used to be a normal human."

"There's a lot you don't know about me," said 18, looking out her window again. "And knowing you, you're not going to even try to find out." They were silent for a long time.

888

It was snowing, hard. Cell looked around. 'Where would they hide?' He sensed energy coming from somewhere and headed towards it. As he came closer, he saw that it was a small town. 'They're bound to be there,' thought Cell. 'Where else is there to go up here?' He landed on the outskirts and felt around. He couldn't sense them, but they had to be here somewhere. He walked into town. Almost immediately, he saw a large man standing outside. He walked up to him.

"Who are you?" asked the square-headed man.

"My name is Cell," answered Cell. "Who are you?"

"Android 8," answered the man. "But I go by Eighter."

"Android?" asked Cell, surprised. "So, you too were created by Dr. Gero?" Eighter nodded.

"Yes," he said. "Now, what do you want?"

"I am looking for someone," said Cell. "A young man with purple hair, and a young blonde woman. The woman is an Android like ourselves."

"I haven't seen them," said Eighter, instinctively knowing Cell was evil. However, he had an idea. "But, I did see something fly by earlier."

"You did?" asked Cell, becoming excited. Eighter nodded.

"Yes," he replied. "Whoever or whatever it was, flew further north. They- er, it, might still be up there somewhere."

"You're not a good liar," said Cell. "I can see what you're trying to do. You're trying to make me think it could have been just anything, but I know for certain it was them. You can't hide that from me."

"Sorry," said Eighter, "But they made me promise not to tell. But, since there's no hiding it now, you might as well hurry and see if you can catch them."

"You've been most helpful," said Cell. "As a reward, I've decided not to destroy this village. Hahahaha!" Cell flew off, laughing evilly. Eighter slowly smiled as Cell left. Whoever he was after was safer now. Still, he wondered what kind of Android Cell had been. Dr. Gero hadn't had anything like that back when he had been built. It looked like no other Android he'd ever seen. Eighter just hoped that Cell wouldn't be back. He went back to he and Snow's home, knowing that he'd done the right thing.

888

They had been quiet for over an hour. 18 had turned off the radio too. She was still brooding over Trunks's ignorance.

'Stupid Trunks,' she thought. 'He really didn't know anything about me. He has no idea who I am or what I've been through. He's fine just assuming the worst of me. Well guess what? I'm going to see if I can't change his opinion. Or, at least, get him to treat me like a person for once.' Trunks too had a lot on his mind.

'Wow,' said Trunks. 'I really can't believe I didn't know she was human. She's not really an Android, she's a cyborg. Doesn't change anything, though. She's still Android Eighteen, and still a monster. We've managed to have some actual conversations, but it changes nothing. She is what she is, and she's done too much evil to be forgiven.' What Trunks didn't realize, was that he was thinking less and less about the bad things 18 had done in the past. Certainly, he still thought about it fairly often. But, he never actually thought too much about it when he was talking to her. Perhaps she had been right earlier. Maybe all of the time they were spending together was changing something between them, if only slightly.

Trunks didn't realize this, of course, but some small part of him realized it on a subconscious level. All Trunks knew was that he had a strange feeling about the whole situation, and that it bugged him. They rode on until sunset, and then Trunks started looking for a place to park and hide the truck.

"We aren't going to hit another town or city until tomorrow," said Trunks, "So keep your eyes peeled for a place to camp. 18 didn't respond. He looked over at her. She was still looking out the window, resting her cheek on her hand. "Did you hear me?"

"Yes, I heard you," said 18, irritably. Trunks was slightly taken aback by her tone. She sounded hostile for the first time in days. The incident that morning hadn't counted, as that had been justified. She sounded like she was really irritated with him. "There," she said, pointing. Trunks looked. There had been large rock formations all over the desert. 18 had spotted one that also had a cave at the bottom. Trunks drove over and pulled the truck into the cave. 18 got out and went to sit in the back of the truck.

"What are you doing?" asked Trunks.

"I'm sleeping back here," said 18. "I'll use the tarp as a blanket. Just leave me alone until morning, alright?" Trunks nodded. He tried to make himself comfortable in the cab. He decided that keeping watch tonight wouldn't be necessary, especially since Cell had completely missed them earlier. He got into a comfortable position, and tried getting to sleep.

18 watched the stars slowly appearing in the sky. She hoped that tomorrow would go better than today had gone. Trunks wasn't awful to be around when he wasn't acting totally disgusted about being in her presence. She'd felt it off and on all day. She'd never really realized before how awful it was to be hated that much. She'd always been in a position where it didn't matter. But now, she was stuck with someone who hated everything about her, and it was really discomforting.

She turned over, looking at the interior of the truck bed. She started thinking about what Trunks had said that morning. 'I think you might have been talking in your sleep,' he had said. What had she been saying? Was it during the dream she'd had twice now? She hoped not. It made her feel vulnerable, knowing that Trunks could hear her saying the things she said in **that** dream. As much as she hoped it wasn't that dream, she knew it had to be. She'd woken up to Trunks looking at her two mornings in a row, and that was the last dream she'd had both times.

She sighed. She really, **really** hoped tomorrow would be better.

888

Cell stood in the snow. 8 couldn't have lied to him, he was sure. He knew that Trunks and 18 had gone north, and 8 had said he'd seen something fly up here. Well, if they'd been here they were certainly gone now.

"Where?" Cell asked himself. "Where could they have gone?" He decided he would stay there for the night and collect his thoughts. Tomorrow, he would try and pick up the trail again. They couldn't hide forever.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Chapter 4, complete. I know, it was kinda short. The next one will be longer though, for sure.

Well, 18 and Trunks have survived another day with each other. But Trunks's hatred and 18's contempt are still there, even if they don't always show it. And now Cell has been thrown off the scent by good old Eighter (you all remember him, right?). Thankfully, Cell is so sure of his own conclusion about where Trunks and 18 ran off to that he didn't see through Eighter's trick.

There was probably stuff in this chapter that seemed a little random, but believe me: it all has a purpose. Just, not yet. In later chapters, certain events in this one will be more important. Ha! Now you have to read on and see what the heck I'm talking about! Stay tuned for the next chapter!


	5. crossing the line

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z, just this story.

Author's note: Alright! Chapter 5! So far, we've seen Trunks and 18 get slowly used to each other. But, at the end of the last chapter Trunks managed to really tick 18 off. While they tend to get a little OOC towards each other, Trunks usually get's things back to where they should be.

Well, let's see what happens in this chapter, shall we?

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

18 watched as the desert rolled by. She was still irritated by Trunks's behavior the night before. She hadn't said much to him all day, which was fine with her.

It was fine for Trunks too. He felt much better without having to talk to her. That weird feeling he'd been getting lately was gone. He felt that things might be back to normal between himself and 18. None of that, 'we're getting used to each other' crap. Hopefully, they could return to hate and hate alike. He decided to voice his thoughts.

"You know," he said, "I think I finally figured out what kind of relationship we have."

"Yeah?" asked 18, not taking her eyes off the landscape.

"You ever hear of a love-hate relationship?" asked Trunks. 18 looked up.

"Yes," she said, "Why do you ask?"

"We've got something like that," said Trunks, "Only instead of love-hate, it's hate-hate. So where the 'love' in a love-hate relationship is, we just have a level of contempt that's low enough to allow us to talk to each other civilly."

"Hoo-rah," said 18 unenthusiastically, looking back out the window.

"That explains any pleasant conversations we've had," said Trunks, satisfied with his logic. 18 smirked.

"You don't think you've been thinking too much about this?" she asked, baiting him.

"What do you mean?" asked Trunks.

"Are you sure you aren't just trying to convince yourself that you don't like me?" asked 18.

"Oh, shut up," said Trunks. "I am not trying to convince myself of anything."

"Are you trying to prove that to me or to you?" asked 18, enjoying her little mind game. Trunks's eye twitched.

"Just knock it off," said Trunks. "I'm not trying to prove anything. I'm just trying to explain what's been going on."

"Whatever you say," said 18, smirking as she got the last word in. It was fun messing with Trunks's mind. However, her mind games hadn't affected Trunks as much as she had hoped. He soon brushed it off as nothing. He knew he was right. He also knew what 18 had been trying to do, which allowed him to add 'manipulative' to his list of 18's negative traits.

They were quiet for a while. 18 started thinking about the last few days. In her opinion, they'd been progressively worse. For the most part, they'd gotten off on the wrong start each day. Today had been just as bad, as she'd started off the day angry at Trunks. She usually tried to hold off on that until midday. It was going to be a long trip to Trunks's house, and it was going to be longer if they didn't start getting along.

'Maybe,' she thought, 'I can just try being nice to him. At least we can try and talk or something. It'll probably make this trip go by faster. Yeah. I'll try that come lunch time.' And so, Android 18 added one more item to her to-do list: be nice to Trunks.

Trunks kept driving, thinking of what to do next. 'Mom is probably worried,' said Trunks. 'Cell's attack was all over the news. I'll find a phone when we get to the city and give her a call. Wish I'd thought of it yesterday.' They drove for quite a while, eventually stopping for lunch. Trunks and 18 got out of the truck. They looked around. There was a lot of desert plants around.

"Go see if you can find something to make a fire with," said 18. "I'll set up everything for lunch." Trunks nodded and headed off to look. 18, meanwhile, started setting up the cooking equipment. They had picked up some supplies in town yesterday, so they were good on things to eat. By the time Trunks came back, 18 had managed to use the tarp and the Truck to create a lean-to.

"What is this?" asked Trunks, seeing what she'd done.

"It's for shade," said 18, now get under here. Trunks got under the tarp. "Plus, it's getting cloudy out, and it looks like rain. Hand me the wood, I'll make lunch." Trunks was surprised by the offer, and he handed 18 the wood. Soon, she had a soup going(they'd picked up some Ramen in town as well). Trunks sat back and watched her work, trying to figure out what she was up to. When it was done, she handed him a bowl and sat down herself and began eating. Trunks ate slowly, not trusting the food. 18 noticed.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Did I mess it up, or what?"

"No," said Trunks, slowly taking a bite.

"Then why are you eating so slow?" asked 18. "It's not poisoned."

"..." Trunks said nothing for a moment. He finally looked at her. "It's just... why are you being so nice?"

"Huh?" asked 18.

"What are you up to?" asked Trunks. "You're never this nice. You're never nice at all."

"Hey," said 18, offended, "Do I have to be up to something to be nice?" Trunks nodded. "Oh, real nice. Look, I just decided that we're gonna be stuck together for a while, so why not try and get along?"

"I doubt that," said Trunks. "That's not the 18 I know. You'd never do something like this without an ulterior motive. What are you up to?" It got darker out, and 18 saw out of the corner of her eye that the dark clouds she'd seen earlier had rolled in rather quickly.

"I'm not up to anything!" exclaimed 18. "I know I haven't ever been nice to you, but given the circumstances I thought it would be a nice time to start." Trunks narrowed his eyes. "Why is it so hard for you to believe that people can change?"

"Oh no," said Trunks, "I believe that people can change. But, that doesn't apply to you."

"And why not?" asked 18, irritated.

"Because," said Trunks coldly, "You're not a person." 18 froze. Trunks, satisfied that he'd gotten the message across clearly, went back to eating. Next thing he knew, he was flying out of the lean-to, skidding across the ground. 18 had hit him so fast he hadn't even seen her preparing to attack. She stomped out after him, fury written onto her face.

"I dare you to say that again you little punk!" yelled 18. Her face was illuminated by a flash of lightning, followed quickly by a crack of thunder.

"Fine," said Trunks. getting to his knees and wiping a hand across his cheek. He spit out a bit of blood from the cut the inside of his mouth had received do to his cheek going up against his teeth. A few drops of rain began to fall. "You're. Not. A. Person." 18 rushed forward, kicking at Trunks. He caught her leg and threw her. She righted herself in the air and went right back for Trunks. Her punches and kicks flew hard and fast, and it took Trunks all he had to block or dodge everything.

She landed a blow on his left cheek, and then caught him by the shirt. "Take. It. Back." she demanded. The rain started falling faster.

"Why?" asked Trunks. "It's the truth." 18 kneed him in the gut and dropped him. Trunks looked up at 18. She was shaking with fury.

"I thought that I told you yesterday," said 18. "I-"

"Doesn't matter," Trunks cut in. "So what if you used to be human? So what if you're still mostly human? It wouldn't matter if you were almost completely human! You're not a person! You're nothing more than a monster, Eighteen, and that's all you'll ever be!" 18 snapped. She kicked Trunks as hard as she could, and Trunks had no time to block it. She grabbed him, only to have him kick her off. She sailed through the air, then righted herself.

18 was so angry, she completely forgot hiding her power. She started blasting away at Trunks. Trunks dodged as many as he could, finally blasting back. He fired harder and faster than 18, forcing her to block. He disappeared and reappeared behind 18, hitting her in the back with a Ki blast. She dropped to the ground and didn't move. Trunks landed next to her.

"Had enough?" he asked. She didn't move. Trunks kneeled down to inspect her. He hoped he hadn't killed her on accident. He looked closely. Suddenly, her hand shot up and grabbed Trunks by the throat. She jumped up and punched him in the face with her free hand. She let go, only to grab him by the shoulders. She kneed him in the stomach, and Trunks gasped in pain. She pushed his shoulders down and kneed him in the face. She dropped him and walked away.

Trunks got up, his face and stomach now in a considerable amount of pain. Even the rain hitting his face hurt. He looked for 18. He saw her and was prepared to go and attack, when he noticed that she was just standing there, facing the other direction. He walked cautiously over to her. As he got closer, he noticed she was breathing heavily. He got within a foot of her when she spun around and slapped him as hard as she could. He was sent back several feet, and landed hard on the ground. He looked at 18. She was looking at him, but still not moving. Trunks looked back at her. To Trunks's shock, she had tears in her eyes. It had looked like rain running down her face, but when he looked harder he realized that the water was coming from her eyes.

Despite everything, Trunks actually felt bad. Sure, she'd done a lot of bad stuff, and he didn't really think of her as a person, but something about this whole thing didn't sit right with him. She was Android 18... but she was still a girl. He'd made a girl cry. There was no honor in that, and his honor was a source of pride for him. Hadn't that been what his father was all about? Pride? And Trunks had gone and done something like this. He got up, slowly and painfully. He walked over to where 18 was standing.

"E-Eighteen," he said. "I... I'm sorry, I-" he tried putting a hand on her shoulder. 18 slapped it away.

"Get the hell away from me!" she shouted. Trunks stepped back. "Take one step near me, and I'll rip your damn head off! You got that!?" Trunks nodded. 18 turned around and took a few steps away towards the truck. "I'm going to get in the truck," she said. "When you get in to drive, don't talk to me. Not a single, word." She got into the truck, ripping off the tattered remains of her vest, and slammed the door shut.

Trunks sighed. He went to pick up their stuff. 'Nice,' he thought to himself. 'I really, **really** screwed up there.' Not only had he angered 18 again, their battle had involved Ki blasts. They had to move fast now, as Cell may have sensed it.

Trunks got in the car and started back on the road. 18 looked out the window, not wanting to look at Trunks for as long as she could manage, and not wanting to let him see her cry.

888

In the frozen north, Cell was too far away to sense the battle that had just taken place. He felt energy, but assumed it was from the small town he'd passed.

'Where could they have gone?' he thought. 'Android Eight told me that they came up this way. I don't think he was lying. Of course, if I find out he was I will destroy him and his village right away. But that doesn't help me at the moment. Trunks is smart enough not to use Ki, and all of this searching isn't getting me anywhere. I'll never find them at this rate.' He suddenly had a thought. 'Maybe Dr. Gero had something in his lab that can help track an Android. Hmm. I'll go check.' With that thought in mind, Cell flew off towards the lab, hidden deep in the mountains very far from where he was now. It would take a while, but he could be there by tomorrow.

888

Trunks and 18 drove on in silence. It had been over an hour, and not a word had passed between them. The rain kept up, not showing any signs of stopping.

"I hate you, Trunks," 18 said suddenly. Trunks said nothing for a moment.

"Huh?"

"I hate you," said 18. "I really do. I tried being nice, I really did. But, you threw it back in my face. See, I didn't really hate you before." This caught Trunks off guard. "Sure, we're enemies, but I didn't hate you. At least, not your level of hate. I disliked you pretty strongly, but I never actually **hated** you. I do now though. Congratulations." Trunks didn't know what to say to that, so he kept his mouth shut.

Was he really that bad? And how had 18 not hated him before this? They'd fought so many times that it didn't seem possible. As he started thinking about it more, he realized that it had really been himself that was doing the hating. It was one thing to protect someone you hated, but it was another thing to protect someone who now definitely hated you back. He'd actually managed to make his life more screwed up then before, a feat he thought impossible.

They made it to town that night and checked into a motel. 18 didn't speak to him the rest of the night. As Trunks lay in bed, starring at the ceiling, he thought about the day's events. 18 had really caught him off guard. He turned over on his side. He really should have expected it. What had he been thinking, telling her that?

He turned over again. No, that was dumb. She wasn't a person as far as he was concerned. After all she'd done? After showing no remorse? She couldn't be a person anymore. Like he'd said from the beginning, she was a monster.

He turned over once more. But... Did monsters cry? He had really hurt 18 today. He didn't think that had been possible. The anger he should have seen coming, but the crying... He felt the guilt building up in the pit of his stomach. 18 or not, Android or not, he'd made her cry. He sighed. She really had to be a person.

He turned back onto his back. Fine, he could accept that she was a person, then. He had to grow up and realize that. But, she wasn't a good person. In no way was she a good person.

18 was also in bed, looking up at the ceiling. She was actually so mad that she was beyond using angry words, even in her thoughts. 'What Trunks did was uncalled for,' she thought. 'Even considering what I've done, I'm still a person.' She looked to her clothes, hanging up on the room's clothes rack. 'He ruined my vest, too. He owes me for that.' She looked back up at the ceiling. If anyone was the monster in this situation, it was Trunks. **She'd** never even done anything like that.

'Trunks,' she thought. 'Why did I try being nice to him in the first place? I should've known he would react badly.' She sighed. 'Okay, maybe not. I don't actually know that much about him. Seems kind of pointless now though.' She looked out the window of her room. 'I'm going to keep talking to him to a minimum. If he actually tries to apologize, I might forgive him and try being nice again. I can change, if I want to. Trunks has no right to decide that I can't. He doesn't know what I've been through, what my life has been like. He doesn't know anything.' She sighed once more. 'I can't expect him to apologize. At least, not really sincerely. He'll do it as a matter of course, but he won't mean it.' She turned over and tried to get to sleep. Things had been getting progressively worse. How much worse could it get?

888

As Trunks dialed his mother's number on the motel's phone, he remembered an old phrase he'd heard somewhere before. "Hell hath no wrath like a woman scorned." Oh yes, his trip with 18 was bound to get rougher after yesterday's events.

"_Hello?_" came Bulma's voice on the other end of the line.

"Mom?" asked Trunks. "It's me."

"_Trunks!_" Bulma exclaimed. "_It's you! You're alright!_"

"Yeah," said Trunks. "Listen, Mom. It's gonna be a while before I get home."

"_Why?_" asked Bulma.

"It's complicated," said Trunks. "But the point is, I pretty much have to drive home. So, it'll probably be a couple of weeks."

"_Alright_," said Bulma. "_Just tell me why after you get home, and call me every so often, okay? I got worried when I didn't hear from you_."

"I know, I'm sorry mom."

"_That's alright_," said Bulma, "_We all make mistakes_."

"Alright," said Trunks. "I'll call you in a few days. Goodbye Mom."

"_Goodbye Trunks_." Trunks hung up the phone and sighed. 'We all make mistakes,' he thought. 'I sure made one last night.' He shook his head. 'I can't believe I'm thinking this, but maybe I should try and apologize to her.' He thought about it a bit more. He had realized she was a person last night, so apologizing was the only course of action possible, at least if he wanted to keep this unpleasant journey at a tolerable level of unpleasantness.

18 had finished breakfast and had stepped out of the dining area. Trunks was standing there waiting for her. He was looking down at the ground.

"Hmph, what do you want?" asked 18.

"I, uh," began Trunks. "I wanted to, um, apologize for yesterday.. I, uh..."

"You what?" asked 18.

"I... it's hard to say..."

"If it's so hard to say it," said 18, "Then don't. Don't go through all that effort if you aren't going to mean it."

"No!" exclaimed Trunks, "You don't get it! I... I really crossed the line yesterday, and I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have said that you weren't a person. You... you are a person. I really upset you yesterday, and I'm sorry." 18 was shocked.

"You... you mean it?" asked 18

"Yes," said Trunks. "I'm sorry." 18 hadn't expected Trunks to apologize. At least, not like this. He actually seemed really sorry.

"Well," said 18, "I might forgive you. But, you owe me some new clothes."

"Huh?

"You destroyed my vest yesterday," explained 18. "You owe me."

"Fine," sighed Trunks. "Whatever." Trunks and 18 left the motel and took off down the road. It would be a few days until they reached another town. However, Trunks had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He hadn't sensed Cell at all. Where was he, and what was he up to? He had a feeling that it wouldn't be long until he found out.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Chapter 5, done. Well, Trunks certainly managed to piss 18 off. She says she might forgive him, but who knows how long that'll take?... I knows... ha! You guys are gonna have to keep reading if you wanna find out.

And, Cell is heading back to Dr. Gero's lab. Will he find what he's looking for? And if he does, how long will it be until he catches up with 18 and Trunks? Tune in next time, and find out.


	6. cell's experiments

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z, just this story.

Author's note: Whoopsy! Took me a while to update, I know. I've been busy lately. Sorry.

Okay! Now it's time to really show Cell as a threat! He's off to find something to track 18. Will he find it? What else might he encounter at Gero's lab?

This chapter will indeed be mostly Cell. There will be a small amount of stuff with 18 and Trunks, but it will be kept to a minimum.

Warning! As the title of the chapter implies, Cell is going to be experimenting on things; living things. As Cell is indeed the villain, he will have no regard for life at all. Stuff in this chapter may seem horrible, but that's how it is when it comes to Cell.

--

As Trunks and 18 continued to travel, Cell was heading back towards the secret mountain lab of Dr. Gero. 'The Dr. has to have made something,' thought Cell, 'Anything that would track the Androids.' He arrived at the lab and started looking around. There were various tools and machines lying around. 'The Androids left quite a mess when they killed him, didn't they?'

He saw a large container, one of the ones that held the Androids, only this one hadn't been opened. It was of no consequence to him however. Whatever Android was in there probably wasn't worth it, or Gero would have activated it. Only absorbing 18 would suffice.

He continued looking around, searching through the tools and machines. He stopped. "This is stupid!" he said. "How am I supposed to know what to look for?"

"Who is there?" asked a high-pitched, mechanical-sounding voice. Cell looked around.

"Who said that?" he asked.

"Over here," said the voice. Cell looked about. He started moving towards where he thought the voice was coming from. "You're very close now. Look down." Cell followed the voices instructions. He was looking at a pile of junk. He saw what looked like an arm sticking out of it. The hand had a red orb in it's palm. Cell reached down, grabbed it's wrist, and puled it up to look at it. Cell's eyes widened in surprise. It was a half finished Android, only a torso with a head and a right arm.. It was pale white in color, and what clothes it had were yellow.

"Who are you?" asked Cell.

"I am Android Nineteen," answered the unfinished automaton. "I am the last Android Dr. Gero created. Who are you?"

"Cell," answered the green menace. "Why did Dr. Gero create you? Androids Seventeen and Eighteen function perfectly."

"He created me," explained 19, "To help him finish his final Android. Himself. He was planning on creating an Android body for himself, and I was to transfer his brain into it. However, he activated Seventeen and Eighteen before I was finished, and they killed him."

"Interesting," said Cell. "Maybe you can help me with something then. I am looking for something to help me track Android Eighteen."

"Why exactly should I help you?" asked 19.

"Don't you want revenge on Eighteen?" asked Cell. "I can see that there's only half of you left, but I doubt the doctor left you this way. I'm assuming that the Androids are responsible for this. Am I wrong?"

"No," said 19.

"If you help me," said Cell, smiling "I will make sure that you are soon whole."

"Agreed," said 19. Cell found some old wires and strapped 19 to his back. 19 immediately grabbed Cell's shoulder, absorbing some of his energy. Cell's eyes went to 19's hand.

"What are you doing?" asked Cell.

"Taking your energy," said 19. "I've never felt this much power." 19 actually sounded excited. Cell smirked.

"I suggest you stop," said Cell. "You'll overload yourself. I have far too much power to be absorbed, especially by half an Android." Cell frowned. "Also, if you don't want to end up back in that pile of junk you'll stop feeding off of me and help me find what I'm looking for."

"Alright," said 19, taking his hand off of Cell. "I just needed some energy. I would have run out soon if you hadn't come along." 19's eyes darted around the lab. "The doctor built a machine that could be used to track the Androids, but it was destroyed when they killed him."

"What!?" raged Cell. "Arrgh, then I've come all this way for nothing!" He launched a Ki blast through the side of the mountain in pure frustration.

"Wait," said 19. "We can still find the blueprints and build another one." 19 looked around. He pointed to something, hidden in the shadows. "Over there." Cell walked over and inspected the area 19 had indicated. There was nothing but a rock wall.

"What exactly am I supposed to be looking for?" asked Cell.

"There is a safe hidden behind the wall," explained 19. "Dr. Gero kept his blueprints inside of it." Cell nodded. He smashed through the rock (which was actually a fake wall) and found the safe. Not bothering with a combination, Cell proceeded to rip the safe's door off. Inside were several blueprints. Cell picked them up. He walked over to an overturned table and chair and set them both right-side-up. he sat down and spread the blueprints over the table. Several were for Androids (some marked "success", others marked "obsolete" and still others marked "failure"), one was for Cell, and a few others were for various devices.

Android 19 looked for the one Cell was after. He found it and pointed to it. Cell brushed all the other blueprints off of the table.

"This is the one?" he asked.

"Yes," said 19. "That is the device Dr. Gero planned to track the Androids with."

"Good," said Cell. "Then let's get started." With Android 19 pointing everything out, Cell found the parts he needed in no time. Unfortunately, Cell had a hard time reading the blueprints. Creating machinery was not a feature Dr. Gero had included in his design. Thankfully, 19 had been made to help Gero create an Android body suitable for Gero's brain. Engineering was built in. However, 19 only had one arm.

"I have an idea," Cell said after they had gathered the materials.

"What?" asked 19.

"To tell you the truth," said Cell, "I cannot make this device on my own. However, you can. All you need is another arm."

"Yes," said 19, wondering where Cell was going with all of this.

"So," said Cell, "I am going to try something. Something that I believe will give you another arm to work with." 19 nodded. Cell unstrapped 19 from his back and placed him on the table. He looked at his own left arm. "You see, I am able to regenerate. If I were able to put something of me onto you, it could grow into an arm. It may be able to sort of replicate your structure, and grow into your arm."

"That would not work," said 19.

"Why not?" asked Cell, his moment of genius ruined.

"I am not organic in anyway," said 19. "Your idea might work for Seventeen or Eighteen, but not for me." Cell frowned.

"I see," said Cell. "Well, let's try this then." Cell grabbed his left arm, and tore it off. He put it to 19's left arm socket. "If I'm right, this could work. My Cell's should be strong enough to adapt and at least bond with your body." As Cell's arm regenerated, he and 19 watched his old arm. Slowly, root-like structures began growing out of the arm. They attached themselves to 19. Inside, more roots were attaching to the wires that would have connected an arm to 19's central computer. Cell smiled. "Go on, try it out."

19 looked down at the arm. He attempted to move it. At first, it didn't move. He kept trying, and it slowly began to respond. Soon, it was moving as if it had always been a part of him.

"It works," said 19. Cell smiled wider.

"Yes!" he cried. "Yes! Now, we can get to work."

"Agreed," nodded 19. 19 began working right away. "It may take a few days to complete this. What will you do during that time?"

"I'll find something to do," said Cell. "Maybe I'll work on getting you some legs." Cell walked out of the lab through the hole he'd made in the wall. He looked out at the rest of the mountains. 18 and Trunks could be anywhere. But, he would find them.

He started walking around the mountains, thinking. 'I was able to give Nineteen a new arm. What could I do if I injected my cells into a living organism?' He started thinking of the possibilities. Eventually, he found himself wondering what the full extent of his regeneration was. He had already grown his entire body back once. Could he create another body if he wanted to? And how would that work?

He had time, why not try it? He started thinking hard. How to create another body. Did he take off a large enough piece of himself that it could regenerate into a new body? No, that might be dangerous. He'd have another person just like him, and knowing himself, he knew the other would attack him right away. Would the other have a separate mind than him? And what if the other one absorbed him? What would happen then?

Cell shook his head. Best not to try something quite like that. However, he could try and test his other theory. What would happen if he put his own cells into a living thing? He started looking around for something. Anything that moved would do. He saw a bird, a sparrow to be exact, fly by and went for it. He grabbed it as carefully as he could, not wanting to kill it just yet. The bird was frantic, trying to get away from the monster that had grabbed it.

"Hmm," he said, seemingly to the bird. "Let's see what happens if I give you a little bit of myself." He raised his tail. He carefully pricked the bird with the needle-end, and concentrated. Absorbing required nothing more than the thought of absorbing, so the thought of injecting his own DNA should work just as easily. Cell's theory was correct. He injected the bird with some of his own DNA. The bird stopped struggling. Cell opened up his hand and held it out flat. The bird just stood there. Cell had another thought.

"Raise your left wing," said Cell. The bird raised its left wing. 'Raise your right wing,' commanded Cell, in thought only this time. The bird raised it's right wing. At Cell's next thought, the bird lowered both wings. Cell sat down, commanding the bird to perch on his finger. "It seems," Cell told the bird, carefully stroking its head, "That my cells overpower yours. You are now technically a part of me. However, you are just a bird, weak-minded and easily controlled. I need to test this on a smarter animal. On a cunning, wild beast. But first, I want to see just how far into your little mind I am." He closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, he saw himself. He opened up his eyes in surprise. He was looking at the bird, but in his mind's eye he saw himself.

'Turn your head,' commanded Cell, closing his eyes. As the bird carried out his command, he realized with glee that he was indeed seeing what the bird saw. 'Go find me a more suitable test subject.' The bird flew off, searching for a new animal. Cell smiled. While Dr. Gero hadn't designed Cell to create machinery, he had certainly given Cell his willingness to experiment on living things.

"What I have discovered," Cell said out loud to himself, "Is amazing. I had no idea I could do something like this. If it hadn't been for Nineteen's missing arm, I never would have thought of this. I will reward him when the time comes." He concentrated on the bird. The bird had found a pack of wolves. Wolves! Now there was an animal! Cell concentrated, feeling for the bird's location. He found it was easier to track something when it had a piece of himself inside of it.

Cell made his way to his feathered servant. He saw the pack of wolves below them. "Such regal beasts, don't you think?" he asked. The bird nodded. Cell grinned. "Glad you agree. Now, let's find the alpha male." It didn't take long for Cell to find his target. He flew down, waiting for the leader to separate from the group. The pack started moving, the leader going first. Cell waited.

Eventually, the pack of wolves came to a point where, to go first, the leader had to temporarily get out of the other wolves' sight. Cell struck immediately. The wolf seemed to be paralyzed as Cell did the job, but as soon as Cell pulled his tail away, the wolf attacked him. Cell was surprised at the wolf's speed and ferocity. He had expected that being able to control the wolf would not be instant like the bird, but he didn't think the beast would retaliate so quickly.

The wolf jumped at Cell, who through up his arm. The wolf bit down on Cell's arm. At first, he just hung there on Cell's arm. Eventually though, Cell actually started to feel a small amount of pain. Inspection of his arm revealed that the wolf's teeth were actually biting into his arm. Cell's eyes widened in surprise.

'Have my Cell's increased this animal's strength as well?' thought Cell, shaking the wolf off. The wolf jumped at him again. Cell quickly moved to the side, deciding it was time to test his first theory. He launched a Ki blast at the wolf. The wolf's agility, while quite increased, wasn't enough to save the animal from harm. He moved, and the blast caught him in his front, left leg.

"Yip!" cried the wolf, in a serious amount of pain. Suddenly, there was some movement around the area that the wolf's leg used to be. Cell watched in grim satisfaction as the wolf's leg started growing back. He had been right. The other wolves started rushing around the bend. Cell decided it was time to tame the beast. He concentrated hard on the regenerating wolf in front of him.

He felt the wolf struggling. It was much harder to control this animal than Cell had expected. He didn't know if it was because of the complexity of the animal, or because he was controlling the bird at the same time. However, he soon gained some control over the wolf.

His pack was unsure of what to do. Their leader didn't seem to be attacking the green one, and they didn't know wether or not they should either. Cell grinned as a wicked thought came to mind. It was time to truly test the improvements Cell's DNA had brought upon this wolf.

'Kill them,' commanded Cell. 'Killed them all.' The wolf looked at Cell, then back to his pack. He was perfectly still for a moment. Then, he took a step towards the pack.

888

"Ha ha ha!" laughed Cell, walking back into the lab. "Absolutely amazing."

"What?" asked 19, looking up from his work.

"Look at what I've discovered," said Cell. The wolf was walking at his side, and the bird was perched on his shoulder. "By injecting my own cells into these animals, I've been able to control them. And that's not all. Their strength has increased as well."

"Yes," agreed 19, scanning the animals. "Their strength has increased twofold beyond normal parameters."

"Not only that," said Cell, "But they both seem to be able to regenerate."

"Hmm," said 19, scanning further. "It seems that your Cell's rapidly multiplied, while simultaneously fusing with their own. It eventually made it's way to their neural network, and finally to their brains. However, the mind control is limited. The wolf is on the verge of breaking free."

"I know," sighed Cell. "It seems that the mind control doesn't work on more complex creatures. Now, if my cells outnumbered or equaled the cells already in place, I might be able to have total control. But, the wolf's cells greatly outnumber mine." At that moment, the wolf attacked Cell. Cell blocked it's bite. However, the wolf let go, becoming docile again. Cell looked closely at it. It's eyes were green. He looked at the birds, whose eyes were the same color.

"It seems," said 19, voicing Cell's exact thoughts, "That wether or not they are under your control can be determined by their eye color." The wolf's eyes turned brown again. It growled at Cell. Suddenly, it began concentrating. Without warning, it launched a beam of energy from it's mouth. It hit Cell. Cell looked down at where the wolf had hit. The attack had only done enough damage to scratch the surface. While it wasn't much, it meant that thw wolf was getting stronger, a fact 19 soon confirmed. "It's power has increased again. It is now 5 times the strength of a normal wolf."

"Anything else?" asked Cell, blocking the next attack.

"It's power is still increasing," said 19.

"Hmm," said Cell. "It must be my Saiyan DNA."

"What?"

"The DNA I acquired from Goku," explained Cell. " You know the saying, 'Whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger'? Well, Saiyans are literal examples of that phrase. When they survive a life-threatening injury, they become more powerful." He paused as the wolf jumped at him. To Cell's surprise, it was able to tackle him to the ground. Cell hadn't expected the wolf to be so strong, so he had been totally unprepared. As the wolf tried to bite, Cell blocked with his arm. "Also, they get stronger when they are upset, or so it seems."

"What did you do to upset the wolf?" asked 19.

"I made him kill his pack," said Cell, nonchalantly. He threw the wolf away from him. The enraged beast landed on his feet and charged forward. Cell grabbed him, and then threw him out of the lab. He blasted the wolf into oblivion, commenting, "I suppose that would upset him enough to increase his power. To bad I didn't have more time to study that one, but he was becoming a bother."

"Agreed," said 19. "If the battle between you two had some how gotten serious, he might have destroyed the device." 19 got back to work. "My sensors indicate that the Wolf could not have regenerated after that. If it did, it would be more you than the wolf, and therefore not a threat." Cell nodded. If only there were a way to start off with something that was mostly himself. He would work on it tomorrow.

888

"Well," said Trunks, looking out of the truck window, "It looks like we're stuck here. I don't think you'll wanna sleep outside in the truck bed now."

"Great," said 18, watching the rain pour down. "Stuck in here all night with you. How terrific."

"Shut up," said Trunks. "I'm not happy about this either." They sat in silence for a while. 18 was still angry about what Trunks had done the day before, what she was keeping it to herself. She'd think of a way to get back at him later. Trunks, meanwhile, was still confused about something. "Hey, Eighteen?"

"What?" asked 18.

"Now," began Trunks, "I realize that you're a person and everything, but, I want to know something. You once said that you hated humans. I don't get it."

"You can be a person without being a human, you know," said 18, not looking at him.

"No," said Trunks, "That's not all though. You also said that you used to be human. If that's the case, why do you hate humans so much?" 18 kept looking out the window, narrowing her eyes.

"Dr. Gero," answered 18. Trunks waited for her to continue. "That's all I'm gonna say. The reason I hate humans is Dr. Gero."

"Oh," said Trunks. He thought about it for a moment. "If it's any consolation, I hate him too."

"Woohoo," said 18 sarcastically. "We have something in common now. We both hate the same guy."

"And Cell," added Trunks. 18 nodded.

"Definitely Cell," said 18. They were quiet again. Trunks looked around the inside of the truck.

"So," he asked. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know," said 18. "It's too early to go to sleep, and we're stuck in here for now." She thought about it for a moment. "Why don't you tell me more about your little trip into the past." Trunks shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright." He began telling the story from where he'd left off.

888

The next day, Cell decided to test a new theory. He still had his altered bird. He wanted to see if he could use his cells in combination with the bird's to make a new bird. While 19 worked on the tracking device, Cell found another table to work on. He inserted the needle-point of his tail into the bird and concentrated. He was used to absorbing things whole. Now, he just had to take a bit of the bird's DNA, and he had to keep it from getting into his system. He took in the DNA, concentrating hard. He thought about putting some of his DNA into the bird's, and about not absorbing it.

He had found a powerful microscope and some slides. After a moment, he ejected something onto the slide. It was a small amount of clear liquid. Cell looked at it under the microscope. He saw the cells of both himself and the bird. The cells were multiplying at an accelerated rate. Cell looked at the liquid. It turned into a solid mass of flesh. It began taking shape. Cell watched in fascination as feathers began to grow. In moments, it was a bird. Cell didn't even have to concentrate to see what the bird was seeing.

"19," said Cell. "Look at this." 19 looked over and saw the new bird. The original bird hopped over to the new one to inspect it.

"My scanners show that the new bird is comprised of equal portions of your cells and the bird's," said 19. "However, it has taken on the appearance of the bird alone. Interesting." Cell nodded. Suddenly, the two birds started circling, looking at each other. Cell tried to gather what they were thinking, but bird thoughts were difficult to decipher. From the original, he got a sense of curiosity. From the clone, he got a feeling that he knew all to well: a drive to be complete. The new bird was looking at the old, the way Cell looked at the androids. The old bird was key to the new birds completion.

The birds took a few hops towards each other. The new bird reached out a talon and grabbed the old bird. There was a blinding flash of light. Cell blinked to clear his eyes, which then widened in surprise. There was only one, large bird standing there now! It was easily twice the size of either of the two birds that had been there before.

"What was that?" asked 19, looking over. He saw that there was now only one bird. "What happened?"

"I... I'm not entirely sure," said Cell, "But I think the birds fused somehow."

"Hmm," said 19, scanning. "It seems that this bird is twice as powerful as the old one."

"Interesting," said Cell. The bird stood there, awaiting orders. It had only acted independently when confronted by itself, and it's actions had been the same as Cell's: do what was necessary to become whole. "Very interesting." He commanded the bird to perch on his shoulder. He had one more experiment to test out. He began walking outside. As he did, he turned to ask 19 something. "How long until you've finished that tracker?"

"I should have it done tomorrow," said 19.

"Good," said Cell. He went off to find somewhere to test out his new theory. Maybe, he could create something entirely of his own cells. It was a long shot, but it was worth trying.

888

18 slowly opened her eyes, still sleepy. She'd never been a morning person. She noticed that she seemed to be leaning on something. She looked over. Oh, it was just Trunks. She closed her eyes, trying to get back to sleep. They snapped open, and she sat up straight.

"Gross," she said quietly. "I fell asleep on Trunks." She looked over at him. Her movement hadn't disturbed his sleeping. "Lazy Saiyan. Sleeps like a log." She saw Trunks suddenly grimace.

"No," he said. "Gohan... why did you go alone? I could have helped..." Trunks breathing became heavy. "No... No... No! Those monsters! Ha!" Trunks sat straight up, anger etched in his face. He brought his breathing under control, looking over at 18. She was looking at him strangely, her eyes wide. "What?"

"You were talking in your sleep," said 18.

"Oh," said Trunks. "Then you already know what I was dreaming about, huh?" 18 slowly shook her head.

"Haven't had that dream in a while," said Trunks, starting up the truck. "Doesn't matter though." 18 said nothing. What could she say in this situation? Deciding that she really couldn't say anything, she went to looking out the window.

It was a long, quiet ride.

888

He'd done it. Cell had created a body made entirely of his own cells. It was a small creature, yet powerful. It looked just like him too. Strangely enough, the creature (which Cell had dubbed a Cell Jr.) Was both independent minded and yet totally obedient to Cell. His last experiments had either been one or the other. Cell nodded in satisfaction as the Cell Jr. looked at his surroundings.

However, it had taken a lot of effort to create the Cell Jr. It had left Cell very tired. He called the Cell Jr. over, and immediately absorbed him back into his body. "I suppose that when I am perfect," Cell said, "This won't be such an effort. What do you think?" The bird perched on his shoulder nodded. "That's what I thought." Ah yes. One more reason to look forward to perfection.

Cell went back to the lab. As he entered, the Android containment unit he'd seen the day before caught his eye once more. "Which android is that for?" he asked 19.

"That unit is for Android Sixteen," answered 19, working on the devices circuit board. "Dr. Gero created him to kill Goku. However, he was deemed a failure and locked away."

"Oh," said Cell. "Not worth my time then?"

"No," said 19. "Sixteen is a complete failure that does not fight." After that, Cell forgot all about it. An Android that didn't fight? Useless. No point in absorbing something like that. Besides, only absorbing 18 would do.

Cell grinned. If Android 19 was correct, then he would be doing so soon. Very soon.

--

Tada! Done. So yes, animal cruelty in this chapter. I told you Cell was evil. I had to make him do something that I would hate to really make him a villain, you know?

Now, the experiments may have seemed a little random, but trust me: they have a purpose. I thought it would be better to work with this stuff sooner rather than use it as originally intended later. I had to let Cell know he had these powers before they become really important to the story.

And how about that 19 appearance, huh? That was an on-the-fly decision that I thought help the story. And 16 might pop up later, who knows? I knows, ha!

And, of course, things are still a little tense between Trunks and 18. Who knows though, they might start getting along eventually.


	7. shopping

Author's note: You all said I wouldn't be back. Here I am. I am indeed back. I've been through a lot of stuff in the past, what almost 2 years? School, romance, other such things. Listen though, the important thing is that I am back. I was busy, real busy. I wrote a novel. No joke, a real novel. 400+ pages. That's what I was doing instead. No excuse, but know that I was working on things. To those of you who stuck it out, sorry for the wait, but thanks for waiting. For those of you who didn't believe I'd be back, I just hope you actually find the story.

HHH

Without further ado, let us get started!

"Sheesh," groaned 18, "Why is this taking so long?" Trunks kept his eyes on the road, trying not to let his annoyance at 18's complaining seep into his voice.

"We're driving," answered Trunks. It had been a few days since he'd try to apologize. Since then, things had shifted from somewhat pleasant to tense at varying points. Right now was the latter.

"I just want to know why we weren't able to get closer the day of," said 18.

"I couldn't fly that far that day," explained Trunks. "I wore myself out fighting you two like an idiot. I was lucky I got you as far as I did. It didn't help that I was pretty much dragging you there the whole way."

"How far are we, anyway?" asked 18, ignoring Trunks's grievances.

"We were in a town on the opposite end of the continent," said Trunks. "We were essentially on the furthest point from home we could get. I can only think that we're halfway there, if that."

"Halfway!" exclaimed 18. "That's seriously how far we've gotten? That's it!"

"Not used to not flying, huh?" asked Trunks. 18 shook her head. "Well, me neither, but you don't hear me complaining do you?"

"Whatever," said 18. She looked out at the landscape. Still desert. They'd passed through some plains earlier on, and she thought that they'd finally escaped the desert, but it hadn't lasted very long. Trunks had promised that things in the immediate area around the city were green, but that there was still more desert after that.

However, once they got into town, 18 knew Trunks would have to make good on his promise. He owed her for destroying her vest, and for insulting her. She'd gotten him to promise a shopping trip. Sure, it was kind of silly, especially given their current and grave situation, but she knew they'd have to stop to shop for supplies anyway.

"How long's it gonna be til the next town anyway?" she asked.

"Should hit it by late afternoon," said Trunks. "We'll stay there for the night. Sound good?" 18 nodded. Any place she could get a shower would be great.

888

"Cell," said 19, not looking up from his work.

"Yes?" asked Cell, eager. 19 had said it would be finished today. His perfection was so close now. He could feel it.

"There has been a small hiccup," said 19. Cell frowned. "There was a complication with one of the sensors."

"And does this set you back?" asked Cell, irritated.

"Only slightly," said 19. "I will have the device finished by tonight, if not sooner. I had hoped to give it to you in exactly three minutes, twelve seconds."

"I see," said Cell, closing his eyes. He carefully stroked the sparrow perched on his shoulder. "Nineteen, I have a question."

"Yes?" asked 19.

"How accurate will the device be, if I may ask?"

"It would have led you to the precise point," explained 19, "if not for this error. It will allow you to find Eighteen's general location, but you will have to search for her from that point on yourself. I can do no more with the current parts at my disposal, and I know you wish to find her today." Cell smiled.

"Good foresight," he said. "Any further delay, and things wouldn't have ended well for you. I could have destroyed you for failure after I found her."

"Would you have?" asked 19.

"Not being able to achieve perfection wears on me, Nineteen. It makes me irritable. Make no mistake, I would have found her before I killed you. But, I thought of a better punishment."

"That would be?" asked 19.

"Condemn you to worse than the state I found you in," explained Cell. "Take away the arm I gave you, as well as your own. Then, leave you here to slowly leak power. I know you possess sentience. You would be alone here, unable to move, potentially for centuries given you have nowhere for the power in your body to go." Nineteen's hand trembled slightly. "Of course, I may not have. Still, it's a possibility. Don't screw up."

"Understood." Satisfied that he'd gotten his message across, Cell turned his thoughts to other matters. He now had a whole day to kill. What experiments could he perform today? He looked over at 19. Should he work on giving him legs? No, that would be foolish. What would it benefit 19 to have legs at this point? That could be dealt with later.

He stood up, heading towards the entrance. "I'll be back later," he said. "I do hope that the device is complete when I return."

"I will do everything in my power to make it so," said 19.

"You'd better," said Cell. He left the hidden lab and flew up to perch on a rock formation. He looked around, seeing if there were any creatures around that he could work on. He didn't see anything nearby, and turned his thoughts to what he had at his disposal. He knew he could take the DNA of a creature into his own body, and then produce a copy, provided he kept it separate. But what else could he do, if he really wanted too?

888

They had made it into town, and for once, Trunks truly regretted being a man of his word. Besides all the stares, the confusion of seeing Earth's great hero standing next to what appeared to be one of it's great villains, and the over all fear and anxiety Trunks could see in certain civilians, there was the huge stack of clothes sitting before him.

"Did you really... I mean... was this..." Trunks was nearly speechless. 18 ignored him, looking at herself in a mirror, holding up a shirt to get an idea of how it looked on her. She shrugged, thinking it was cute, and tossed it on top of her stack. The man behind the counter was beyond fear of his strange customer. Was she the infamous Android 18? It looked like it. But just look at how much she was getting!

18 turned to the man, grabbing a shirt and a black vest. "How do you think this would look on me?"

"I think it would look excellent on you, my dear," answered the shopkeeper. "Please, try it on!" 18 gave him a smile and a wink, and turned to walk towards the dressing room. She saw the look on Trunks's face and paused for a moment. Trunks looked at her, and she looked back at him, looking suddenly sympathetic. Then, she stuck her tongue out at him, smirked, and walked into the dressing room.

Trunks and the shopkeeper waited for her to come out. The shopkeeper, feeling there was now an awkward silence in the room, decided to try and start up a conversation. "You know," he said, "She really is very pretty."Trunks slowly looked over at him. "And I meant what I said about how she'd look in that outfit."

"Oh, I know," said Trunks. He looked from the stack of clothes to the man behind the counter. "But, I have to ask... was it absolutely necessary to agree with her on EVERYTHING SHE PICKED OUT!" The man twiddled his fingers, looking around the room as if he hadn't heard trunks at all. Trunks was about to go on, when the dressing room door opened. Both men looked over. Trunks's eyes widened.

18 really did look good. She was wearing a short-sleeved white shirt with a black vest, possible made of silk, and a pair of black gloves. She was also wearing new jeans. "Well boys, how do I look?" she asked.

"Stunning," answered the shopkeeper, eager to please.

"Uh, fine," said Trunks, looking back at the shopkeeper. "You about done?"

"That's rude Trunks," answered 18, smirking, "And here I was thinking I looked good enough even for you." Trunks didn't answer. Satisfied that she'd tortured him enough for now, 18 walked over to her stack of clothes and confirmed that she was done shopping. "How much will this run?"

"Well," said the shopkeeper, "you really did pick out top of the line things here. That vest, this pair of pants, that skirt you found earlier... I think we're looking at about ten thousand yeni here."

"Ten thousand!" exclaimed Trunks. _'That's more than I payed for the truck!'_ 18 smiled deviously. Trunks was bound by his word to buy her whatever she wanted today. But, she looked at the shopkeeper, bending over the counter as she did, and placed her chin on her gloved hand. She gave the shopkeeper a sultry smile.

"Is it really going to be ten thousand?" she asked. The man blushed.

"Er, uh, n-no, actually, yes there's a sale today, of course, how could I have forgotten," the man stammered. "Half off, so, uh, five thousand." 18 smiled brightly.

"Thank you very much," she said. Trunks payed the man, and they bagged up 18's clothes. Trunks didn't have a capsule to spare on him, so he had to carry everything. As they left the store, Trunks couldn't help but look at 18, somewhat confused.

"If I was paying anyway," he asked, "what was all that about?"

"What was all what about?" asked 18.

"That whole flirting with him thing," asked Trunks. "Why get him to reduce the price?"

"Well," said 18, "I just felt like what he was asking was a little too much, that's all." In reality, she had actually felt like giving Trunks a break. He WAS paying for everything, after all, and she decided that maybe she shouldn't push it too far. It might actually get them back on decent terms, and make the rest of the trip bearable.

As they walked back to the hotel, they passed a jewelry shop. 18 stopped dead, something in the window catching her eye. Trunks kept walking. In a moment, he noticed that 18 was no longer following him and turned around. She was right up next to the glass, looking at something intently. She walked to the door and went into the shop. Trunks sighed and made his way to the shop. He walked in just in time to see, her looking in a mirror, holding up a string of pearls.

Trunks groaned internally. Jewelry now? How much was he going to spend here? Without a word, 18 put the necklace on. She gave a small smile. It looked good. It tied the outfit together, really. She looked over at Trunks, who looked exasperated. She mouthed the word "please" at him. Trunks sighed and shook his head yes.

"Yay!" she said. She walked over to the counter, and Trunks payed for it. Trunks was surprised that the necklace was the only thing she wanted. He had expected to be there for another few hours while she tried on who knows how many different combinations of jewelry. But, 18 now looked really happy and content. Trunks decided that he would take this 18 over the one he'd fought with days before any day.

However, Trunks still felt bad about what he had done. Sure, he had bought her everything she'd asked for today, but he felt like that didn't quite make it up to her. He knew that they were enemies, he really did, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he had truly been in the wrong to insult her. The problem was, he didn't quite know how to make up for it. He looked around, trying to find some hint of what to do. he had to... he caught sight of a store. That was it!

"Hey Eighteen?" he asked. She stopped. "Would you mind holding these for a second? I have to go check on something."

"Um, okay," said 18.

"Thanks." Trunks gave her the bags and quickly headed to the store. He was back in a few minutes. He picked up the bags and they continued on to the hotel. All the while, they both tried to ignore the stares. They both knew it was inevitable. Not every place could be like the last town, small enough and secluded enough that no one knew who 18 was, or who Trunks was for that matter. This was a larger city, and as such had been hit by the Androids before. walking among them now was strange for 18. She could see the fear and anger in people's eyes, and for the first time it began to bother her.

They finally reached the hotel and got a room. It was a suite, really, with two bedrooms. 18 was thrilled. "A suite, really Trunks?" she asked happily. Trunks nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "Had to get something with two rooms, after all. And this is what was available." What Trunks didn't tell her was that there had been other two-bedroom setups available. He'd chosen the suite intentionally, because he felt that 18 might as well have a nice place to sleep for once. After all, when it came down to it, the reason they were on the run was because 18's life was on the line. She might as well get some compensation for it.

They put 18's new clothes in her room, and got themselves situated. It was just getting dark, and neither of them were ready for bed yet. They sat on a couch in the main room of the suite, trying to think of something to kill time. After a while, 18 spoke.

"What were you doing in that store earlier?" asked 18.

"Oh," said Trunks. "Yeah, I... it was nothing."

"Uh-huh," said 18. "Bull. What were you up to?"

"Nothing," answered Trunks. 18 narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're up to something. Admit it."

"Don't know what you're talking about," said Trunks, smirking. He sat back in the seat, resting his head on his arms.

"Tell me."

"Tell you what?" asked Trunks, innocently.

"Oh you are such a pain," said 18, folding her arms. "Are you always this stubborn?"

"Yep."

888

Cell came back to the lab after a full day of experimenting, quite content with what he had accomplished. He looked over at 19. "Is it done?" he asked.

"Exactly five minutes, forty-six seconds until completion," answered 19. Cell smiled.

"Good," said Cell. "Then tomorrow, I will finally go after them. And as for you, I may just give you legs tomorrow."

"Really?" asked 19.

"You never know," said Cell. "It really depends on what happens tomorrow, doesn't it?" With that, Cell left 19 to complete his work. He had to rest up for tomorrow. Today's experiments had left him feeling a bit drained. He remembered what the purple haired one, Trunks, could do, and knew he couldn't take him in this condition. But tomorrow, he was sure he could do it.

Yes, Trunks would die tomorrow, and Cell would become perfect.

HHH

What could Cell have been doing all day? What could have tired him out? Does he have a new secret weapon for when he attacks Trunks and 18 tomorrow? And can Trunks and 18 keep up this level of civility much longer? Find out next time!

How's that? And there's more where that came from, I assure you. I can totally get this thing back on track. But, I have Spore now, finally, and so don't be surprised when I get distracted. But I have everything planned out. It's just a matter of getting it done. Till next time!


	8. power

Author's note: Oh boy! I'm sure you all know what'll have to happen in this chapter. Cell's Android tracker is complete. What exactly will that entail for our heroes? Read on and find out!

—

Trunks saw his father. He couldn't explain how, but it was him. There was a man next to him that Trunks didn't recognize. He looked a lot like his father, but with a goatee. Trunks was overjoyed to see his father alive again, and assumed that the man next to him must be his grandfather. However, the joy was short lived. Frieza suddenly appeared, and, before Trunks could move, shot King Vegeta through the heart with his Death Beam.

"FATHER!" screamed Vegeta. He turned Super Saiyan immediately, and attacked Frieza. It was a matter of seconds, and Frieza was dead. Vegeta looked at Trunks as if he was about to say something, when suddenly 17 came out of nowhere. Before either Trunks or Vegeta could react, 17 punched straight through Vegeta's chest, charged up his energy, and blew him away.

"FATHER!" yelled Trunks, sitting straight up in bed. He was breathing hard as 18 entered the room, pulling on her old white-sleeved black shirt.

"What was that?" she asked. Trunks glared at her for a moment, then calmed. He held a hand to his forehead.

"A dream..." said Trunks quietly. "... We need to leave. Now."

"Why?" asked 18, her annoyance at the idea of a sudden departure from such a nice place mixed with just the tiniest bit of concern over Trunks's mood.

"I'll explain in the truck," said Trunks. "But we need to cover as much ground today as possible, alright?"

"Got it," said 18. They quickly packed up their things and headed downstairs. Trunks paid the man in the lobby, and they grabbed a quick breakfast. Trunks and 18 loaded her bags into the truck, and then they took off.

888

"Today is the day," said Cell happily. "I will finally achieve perfection." He looked at the radar in his hand, and then over at its maker. "Nineteen, I think I owe you a reward." He walked over to where 19 was placed. "However, you will have to do one more thing for me."

"What?" asked 19.

"How does getting revenge on 18 sound to you?" 19 smiled.

"Excellent," he answered. Cell smiled wickedly.

"Good," he said. "Now, let's see if I can't get you a pair of legs." Cell looked at 19 carefully. He ended right at the waist, where there were exposed wires indicating the damage that 17 and 18 had done to him. "Perfect." Cell then grabbed himself by the waist, and pulled as hard as he could. He literally tore himself in two, and quickly took 19 and set him on top of the lower half of his body.

A new pair of legs burst out from the bottom of Cell's torso, as the old legs started slowly integrating into 19's body.

888

They had both been silent for some time now, Trunks driving intently and 18 looking out at the landscape. The town had disappeared from sight some time ago. 18 noticed that things were starting to look greener now. Finally, after so long a silence, 18 asked.

"What exactly were you dreaming about earlier?" Trunks looked over at her.

"I had a nightmare," he said. "A really bad one."

"A nightmare?" asked 18. "We left a suite early because of a nightmare?" Trunks looked irritated, so 18 decided to take a different approach. "Was it really so bad that we needed to leave? What did you see?"

"I saw my father and my grandfather," explained Trunks.

"Grandfather?" asked 18. "You mean that Dr. Briefs guy from Capsule Corp. that you told me about?"

"No," said Trunks. "King Vegeta. He was the King of all Saiyans before he was murdered by Frieza."

"And what happened in your dream?" asked 18.

"Exactly that," answered Trunks. "Frieza killed him, and then my father killed him in retaliation." Trunks grew quieter. 18 had a feeling she knew why, but asked anyway.

"And what happened after that?"

"Your brother killed him." There was silence in the car for a few more minutes. 18 wasn't quite sure what she could say after that. However, she did begin to wonder why the dream had caused Trunks to decide to pack up and leave so early.

"It's kind of a weird dream," commented 18. "I mean, had you been thinking about your dad lately, or what?"

"No, I hadn't been," said Trunks. "And I've never even seen my grandfather, but I just know that was him. Is that my whole family history?"

"What do you mean?"

"Violent lives, both of them," said Trunks. "And in both cases they ended violently. Is that how it's always been for the men in my line? I mean, my grandfather was killed by Frieza. My dad dedicated his life to killing Frieza after that. Your brother killed my dad, and I tried my whole life to kill him. Am I next?"

"Honestly?" said 18. "I don't really know Trunks. All I know is you better not die before you kill Cell." She looked over at him. "But tell me why exactly we had to leave."

"I don't want any innocent people getting hurt," explained Trunks. "That dream... I have a really bad feeling about it. It was like, a warning." 18 grew cold.

"A warning about what?" she asked. Trunks looked over at her. He knew she didn't really want the answer. Trunks looked back at the road and pressed down a little harder on the gas pedal. "You think...?"

"Yes," said Trunks. "I think Cell is going to find us sooner rather than later." They began to approach a series of mountains and rock formations. Trunks drove quite a ways into what had turned into a canyon, and spotted a cave. He drove the truck into it, and parked. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"Why are we stopping?" asked 18.

"I'm not just going to keep running," said Trunks. "I can take Cell like this, I'm sure of it. I couldn't the day he started though, but now I'm well rested and healed up. I'm not going to let him take us by surprise either. I'm making a stand here."

"Are you sure?" asked 18.

"Absolutely," said Trunks, smirking. "Cell has nothing on me. You stay hidden, though. If Cell finds you and absorbs you before I can stop him, it's game over. But as he is now, he should be no match for me, as long as I don't fool around." 18 nodded.

She wouldn't tell him so, but she was impressed by his confidence. It was as if he'd suddenly remembered just what he was capable of. However, that thought began to unnerve her a little. What **was** he capable of? Was he really strong enough to beat Cell, who in his first form had been too much for her brother to handle? Had she and 17 really just gotten lucky that he decided not to try and fight them as a Super Saiyan that day? She began to suspect that the answer to that was yes.

Trunks got out of the truck. He grabbed his sword and looked at it carefully. He shook his head, thinking better of it. Yes, he was good with it, but he wasn't sure it would be as effective against Cell as he'd like. No, it was best to stick with his fists on this one. He put it down on the driver's seat, and looked 18 dead in the eye.

"Now remember," he said. "Stay hidden, alright? I'll keep his attention on me at all times." 18 nodded. Trunks turned to shut the door and leave, when he suddenly felt her hand on his arm.

"Trunks?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"What you said before... about possibly saving 17... was it true?" Trunks looked back at her and nodded. "Will you... will you at least try?" Trunks gave her a long hard look, considering it all. Should he save 17? He had not only killed Gohan, he had killed his father. However, he **had** saved them when Cell appeared. And if he did, what would he even do with the two androids after that? So many questions, and not enough answers, and certainly, he thought, not enough time to think about them.

"Alright," said Trunks, finally. "I'll try." With that he turned and left the cave. He didn't know why he was going to try and save 17, but he would.

888

The tracker was active, and it worked. Cell and 19 were currently flying at full speed towards the source of the signal: 18. Cell was intrigued at the amount of distance they'd covered. He was certain they hadn't even flown once, as he'd never once sensed any energy use. So while if they had flown all the way they would have been there already, Cell would have found them. Whatever method they had found to travel had been faster than the two could have gone on foot.

'_Some kind of vehicle,'_ thought Cell. _'It might be a good idea to find it, just in case they try to escape again.'_ He looked over at 19. Before they'd left, 19 had mentioned that the tracker would only bring them to 18's general area, and they'd have to look for her themselves from that point on. Also, there was the issue of Trunks to deal with. Trunks was powerful and Cell knew it. However, Trunks wouldn't be counting on backup, especially backup like 19.

The distance between the two and their target grew shorter, and Cell noticed the upcoming mountainous region. His eyes narrowed. There were plenty of places to hide here. He tried to tell himself it didn't matter. After all, he'd keep looking til he found her. Perfection would just be that much more appreciated. Still, he was impatient. He wanted to be perfect now.

He shook his head. He needed to focus. Trunks was wherever 18 was, and he was dangerous. One thing at a time, he told himself. One thing at a time.

888

Trunks was standing in the middle of a small canyon. The wind picked up small clouds of dust, and there wasn't a sign of another living creature. Except for the sound of wind whistling through the mountains and canyons, there was no sound. Trunks began to feel something. It was an energy level. Cell.

Suddenly, a sparrow flew down near Trunks. It was odd. It seemed like nothing lived here. The bird perched on his shoulder. It looked bigger than other sparrows he'd seen. And it had green eyes?

It looked at him, cocking it's head this way and that. It chirped once and then flew away. Trunks only had a second more to ponder this, he looked up, and there he was, floating in the air above him. Cell.

"There you are, boy!" exclaimed Cell. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Cell," said Trunks. "What took you so long?" He smirked confidently. Cell frowned, floating down and landing.

"What's so funny?" asked Cell.

"You, as usual," said Trunks. "You really think you have what it takes to beat me?"

"Considering you've been running away from me this whole time," said Cell, "I think so."

"A Super Saiyan fought you in this form before Cell. It didn't go well for you, and that was before we trained to take on your final form."

"Then what was the point of running if you are so sure of victory?" asked Cell, his turn to smirk. Trunks narrowed his eyes.

"The only reason you got to your perfect form at all last time was because of that Saiyan's carelessness. I wanted to be absolutely sure. You have no chance!" Trunks went Super Saiyan immediately, and suddenly launched himself at Cell. Before Cell had time to react, Trunks' fist had found his face, and he was sent flying along the ground.

Almost instantly, Trunks was behind Cell, and kicked him into the air. He moved again, appearing above Cell, put his fists together, and smashed him into the ground. Trunks charged up his energy, and started raining blasts down on Cell's body. After a few moments, Trunks stopped, not even tired. Cell was still alive, and he knew it.

Cell pulled himself up slowly and painfully from the indentation his body had made in the ground. He was covered in scratches, and his eye was temporarily swollen shut. "H-how?" he asked. "How are you this strong?"

"I told you already," said Trunks. "You have nothing on me." He glared down icily at Cell. Cell was suddenly fearful. Trunks was telling the truth. He really had only left to get his strength back up, and to even the odds. There had been a chance before that he could have taken both androids, and that would have been the end for Trunks. But now...

888

18 could hear the noise of the fight from her hiding place. She could just tell that Trunks was winning. She didn't know exactly how she felt about that. On the one hand, he'd promised to save 17. But on the other hand... what would happen after that? There was no way, no way on earth, that they could take Trunks if he really did beat Cell. Would he just kill them after that? Would he leave them alone? _Could_ he leave them alone?

Regardless, she felt uneasy. Something about this was wrong. Cell wasn't an idiot, she had to admit. He should have known not to come alone, especially if he thought she might have tried to help. Did he have a plan? And if so, how could she help without giving her position away? It was a pickle alright.

She decided she couldn't stay back and do nothing. She looked next to her at Trunks' sword. _'I'm crazy,'_ she thought. _'I'm absolutely crazy for helping him.'_ She shook her head, grabbed the sword, and got out of the truck. She strapped the sword to her back and stepped out of the cave slowly, looking around. She had to find the fight, but she had to stay hidden. She could do that.

888

Trunks looked down at Cell. He remembered his promise to 18. _'If I can just hit him in the gut hard enough,'_ thought Trunks,_ 'he should spit 17 out. That's what Gohan did, right? It's a little brutish, but if it works it works.'_ Suddenly, he felt that all was not right. He became aware of an energy signature that felt like Cell's, but wasn't all there. Almost like it was missing. Just like...

"An Android," he whispered. Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed him around the waist, trapping his arms, and another hand grabbed him by the throat. He looked down. It was Cell's hand around his waist, but a pale whit hand on his throat. "Nineteen!" he exclaimed, recgonizing the sleeve on the foreign arm.

"That is correct," said 19, his electronic voice holding a mocking tone. Trunks felt himself getting weaker suddenly. "I do not know how you know my name. But if you know that, you may know what I am doing to you right now."

"Trying to drain my energy!" exclaimed Trunks, trying to break free. However, he was finding it difficult. 19's strength had been augmented by Cell's arm, and that in addition to the draining of his energy was making it difficult to muster the strength necessary to escape. _'It shouldn't be this difficult,'_ thought Trunks. _'How is he... of course!'_ The realization hit Trunks hard. The energy 19 was stealing form him was going directly into the parts Cell had given him, making them stronger!

Trunks struggled harder to break free but it was no use. 19 was simply draining his energy too quickly for him to compensate. He kept trying though, knowing to give up meant that the Earth was doomed.

Cell looked up with a smile on his face. He'd known 19 would be a good addition. He knew Trunks was powerful, but against an android whose special ability it was to _steal_ power? And, Cell could sense, an android whose power was growing thanks to Cell's augmentation? Trunks didn't stand a chance!

Unbeknownst to the three combatants, there was another witness to the scene. From her hiding place, 18 watched wide-eyed as Trunks struggled against 19. What could she do though? If she revealed herself, Cell would catch her. But if she didn't, it was all over anyway. She put her hand on the hilt of Trunks' sword. She narrowed her eyes, and aimed carefully. If she could just get the angle right...

*WHIIIIIZZZ!* There was a sound of metal cutting metal as the blade entered 19's right shoulder. The force of the throw drove the blade in several inches, stopping short of cutting through and hitting trunks. All three fighters were stunned.

"Wh-where did that come from?" asked Cell. It had been so fast and unexpected that he didn't actually see the direction it had come from. 19, likewise, was stunned. Trunks took advantage of the distraction. He elbowed 19 away as hard as he could, grabbing his sword as he did. 19 was sent hurtling back several yards. Trunks was panting, looking from Cell to 19.

'_That had to be 18,'_ thought Trunks. _'That means she's close by, and is in serious danger of being caught. I have to do something. But 19 drained me really fast. Only one choice.'_ Trunks knew what he was about to do could backfire, but he was counting on it to force Cell into a retreat. It would work. It had to. He took off his jacket, wrapped it around his sword, and let them fall to the ground. Trunks began powering up, tapping into his hidden wells of energy.

"What is he...?" asked Cell.

'_What's he doing now?'_ thought 18. Trunks was glowing. Sparks of energy began flying around him, like small lightning bolts. Cell felt his energy growing, but it was growing at a rate that paralyzed him. Trunks was drained, wasn't he? How could he have this much power left over? Suddenly, Trunks' muscles started to increase in size. They grew a small amount at first, and then much more. His hair began standing up in all directions, and the rubber band holding his ponytail in place snapped.

"HAAAAAAAAAAA!" yelled Trunks, giving it one final push. A huge wave of energy was sent out all around him. Even 18, untrained in sensing energy, could feel it. The three androids looked at Trunks. He was huge now. 18 couldn't see 19's face from where she was, but she could see Cell's. He looked horrified.

"Wh-what?" he stuttered. "H-how? H-how are you so...?" Trunks suddenly rushed at him. His speed was diminished in this form, but not enough for Cell's current state to have any advantage. He grabbed Cell's face, ran a short distance, jumped up and then slammed him into the ground, creating a large crater. Trunks held on, picking Cell up after a moment.

Through his fingers, Cell looked at Trunks with fear. What on Earth was he capable of? Trunks charged up and blasted Cell's head clean off. However, he couldn't kill Cell all the way just yet. He still had to get 17 out. He looked up at 19.

19 moved backwards. _'So much power,'_ thought 19. _'I do not know if I can absorb it all.'_

'_Have to do this quick,'_ thought Trunks. _'He drained me too much earlier. I can't keep up this form much longer.'_ He flew up at 19 at top speed. Before the android could react, Trunks had kicked him in the head. 19 went flying further up into the air. However, something fell from his body. Trunks raced towards it. It was a small box with a screen on it. It reminded him of the dragon radar. 'So this is how they found us.'

"DO SOMETHING NINETEEN!" shouted Cell, whose head had reformed. "HE HAS THE TRACKER!" Cell, desperate not to lose the only means he had of easily finding 18, flew as fast as he could towards Trunks. He pulled back his fist, and punched the second he reached his target. *WHAM!* Cell's eyes widened in disbelief. Trunks had caught his fist.

Trunks glared at Cell, and began to bend his fist backwards. He then kneed Cell in the gut. Cell coughed up blood. Trunks was disappointed. Gohan delivering such a blow had knocked 18 right out of Cell in the past. Trunks realized then that maybe he wasn't quite strong enough at the moment. He cursed it, but realized that he would have to wait and take on Cell another day.

He kneed Cell again, and then crushed the android tracker. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" shouted Cell. Before Trunks could move, Cell's tail was wrapped around his throat. She began punching and kicking Trunks as hard and as fast as he could. 19 had finally steadied himself and came to Cell's aid. He too began to pummel Trunks.

The speed and ferocity Cell was exhibiting shocked Trunks at first, and for a few moments he couldn't move. Then he concentrated, and sent out a small wave of energy, essentially creating a barrier between himself and his attackers. Cell and 19 were blasted backwards, and Cell's tail was removed from his body, cut by the barrier. The tail then disintegrated, unable to withstand the energy.

Trunks charged up two large blasts, one in each hand. "EIGHTEEN!" shouted Trunks, his voice echoing throughout the Canyon. "IT'S TIME TO GO!" 18, in her hiding place, nodded, and flew back towards the cave.

'_She was right here the whole time!'_ thought Cell. However, he didn't have a chance to look. Trunks blasted at both 19 and Cell. 19 tried to move, but wasn't quite fast enough. Part of his new legs took the brunt of the blow, and he fell out of the sky. Cell, having been distracted by his attempt to spot 18, took the blast fairly full on. He fell out of the sky, large pieces of him damaged, and his head once again blasted into oblivion. Trunks landed, grabbed his things and waited.

A moment later, and 18 had shown up n the truck. Trunks powered down and jumped in. They sped away, and were well out of range before either Cell or 19 could do anything about it.

It was some time before Cell regained consciousness. He opened his eyes to see 19 standing above him. Luckily for 19, the legs Cell had given him still functioned as if they were attached to Cell, and had grown back. "Where did they go?" asked Cell.

"I do not know," answered 19. "I landed head first in the ground and was buried. I was not able to see where they went, or how they got away."

"Urgh," growled Cell. "DAMN! We were so CLOSE! And now they've destroyed the tracking device! AAAAAAAGH!" Cell yelled, his furious energy collapsing a few nearby rock structures. He looked towards the sky, seething with rage. They would **not** escape next time.

888

18 drove for hours, putting as much distance between themselves and Cell as she could. She looked over at Trunks. He wasn't making any noise, but she could tell he was in pain. They found an inn around midnight, and 18 got them a room. She helped Trunks up to it. When they finally made it, he collapsed onto his bed.

"Okay," said 18. "What the hell was all that?" Trunks took a few deep breaths.

"It was a Super Saiyan state," explained Trunks, trying to sit up. He winced. He felt like his whole body was on fire. "It's much more powerful than either normal Super Saiyan or Ascended Saiyan. It's nearly as strong as Super Saiyan Level Two."

"T-two?" asked 18. "You mean there's a state even further than..." she grew fearful. Had she and 17 been lucky when they killed Vegeta and Gohan? Just how powerful were Saiyans capable of becoming?

"Yes," said Trunks. "It was ultimately Gohan that Killed Cell in the past, by becoming a Super Saiyan Two. The state I was in sacrifices speed for power, see. That's why I can't let Cell become Perfect. Only a Super Saiyan Two could take him at that point, or at least I think so."

"I see," said 18 quietly. She looked carefully at Trunks. "And what's the matter with you now? Why does it look like you're in nothing but pain?"

"The extra stress on my muscles," said Trunks. "I've only used that form once before. A Saiyan's body is capable of growing like that for a transformation, but I haven't done it enough and my body isn't used to it. Between that and the beating the two of them were giving me... by the way, that was a good move."

"Hm?"

"The sword thing," said Trunks. "Thanks. You probably saved us both back there."

"I had to contribute somehow," said 18. "If you die, I get absorbed. I'm not about to let that happen. Thanks, by the way."

"For what?"

"Look," said 18, "even I felt your energy back there. You were so much stronger than Cell. Thanks for not completely blowing him away. Thanks for trying to save my brother instead."

"Sure," said Trunks.

"Let me do something for you," said 18. Trunks raised an eyebrow. "Look, I just want to thank you for everything you've done so far, alright?" She walked over to his bed and put a hand on his shoulder. "Now lay down and relax for a minute okay."

"What exactly are you-" 18 put a finger ono his lips.

"Just do it," she said. Trunks slowly laid down on the bed. "Now turn over on your back." Trunks did it, but kept a wary eye on 18. What was she up to?

She sat down next to him and put her hands on his back. She began rubbing his sore muscles. Trunks blushed slightly. Was she messaging him? He was about to raise a protest when 18 shushed him. "Just let me do this," she said. She kept going, working his shoulders, then his arms. She made her way back to his back. Suddenly, she was on top of him. She placed her knee on his back, and grabbed both of his arms, pulling them back. Not enough to hurt him, but any more and she would.

"What!" exclaimed Trunks.

"Listen,' said 18, leaning forward and whispering into his ear. "I'm grateful and all, for you helping me, but let me make this perfectly clear. If you ever insult me like you did the other day, I **will** get you back for it. I know you aren't going to kill me, and you know I'm stronger and faster than you as long as you aren't Super Saiyan." Trunks glared back at her. 18 smiled. She'd made her point. "Now relax again." she dropped his arms and removed her knee from his back. She went back to what she'd been doing.

Trunks had a few conflicting feelings at the moment. On the one hand, 18 had just threatened him. On the other hand, she was actually helping him, and he was feeling better for what she was doing. He decided not to retaliate. He knew he was stronger than her overall, and that her threat didn't matter in the long run.

Trunks sighed. He looked forward to the day that his life would start being normal again. One thing at a time though. "What's the nearest city from here?" asked Trunks. "We need to restock on food supply."

"The man at the front desk said Orange City," answered 18, working on a knot in Trunks' back. "It's only a few hours from here, but I felt like we should get some rest."

"Alright," said Trunks. "We'll need to be careful though. Orange City is a bigger city, and people will recognize you there."

"They won't be any trouble," scoffed 18.

"Still," said Trunks. "Let me do the talking, alright?"

"Alright," agreed 18. Soon after, each of the warriors were in their own beds. Orange City was the last city between themselves and West City. They'd headed east when they started, only because Trunks had known there was a town nearby. However, now they were almost home. Home. Trunks smiled. He was looking forward to it.

Took me a while, but here it is. The chapter ran a little long, I know, but I felt it was important, and I couldn't find a place I liked as a breaking point. This story is starting to get where I want it to be. Ever since I started it (wow, two years ago at least? Almost 3? Sheesh) I've known what I want to do with it. I'm almost there, just bear with me. Or is it bare with me? Either way, I'll have the next one up soon, I hope!


	9. promise

Author's note: Orange Star City. Boy oh boy have I been waiting to get to this point. Keep in mind that from here on out, I've had all the major details planned for some time, and I really do know where I'm going. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me thus far. I ask that you be patient with me. Sorry to say, but I have trouble sitting down and just writing anymore. Any tips on that btw? Would be of great help to me. Blarg, I've said enough. On with the show!

* * *

Orange Star City. It had been a while since Trunks had last been here, so long that he hadn't been able to remember its proper name til he got there. He remembered it had been one of his first stops as far as helping with restoration, and he was pleased to see that the place had begun to thrive again. However, there was a small problem. While sitting in the truck had been a great way to hide 18, that didn't seem to be an option anymore.

The old truck had finally started giving Trunks some trouble, and he saw why immediately: lack of gas, in need of an oil change, and based on the way he felt the truck was starting to tilt, one of the tires was going. He drove it into the nearest mechanic, who recognized him almost immediately.

"Why you're that Briefs boy aren't you?" asked the man. "The one what came through here fixin' up the town sometime back?"

"Yes," said Trunks, looking around, making sure no one else could see them just yet. The mechanic caught site of 18. His pleasure at seeing Trunks was suddenly turned to panic. Trunks put a hand over his mouth before he could say anything. "Look, it's really, **really** complicated, ok? She isn't a threat to you or anyone else in this town anymore, alright?" The man nodded in understanding.

"Trunks," said 18, tapping him on the shoulder. "What exactly is the plan here?"

"I don't know yet," said Trunks. "We're stuck here until the truck is fixed up, and we're running low on supplies. I'm thinking it'll be best if you stay here while I go out to shop for food. We just need enough to last us until West City-"

"No," said 18, cutting him off. "I am not staying here all day."

"Eighteen," said Trunks, closing his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose, "We went over this the whole ride here. These people will recognize you. You attacked this city several times. You know how many kids would have grown up fearing your face and your brother's specifically?" 18 narrowed her eyes.

"So?" she asked. "Why should I care, exactly?"

"Ugh, just listen. You may not get older, but the rest of us do. Scared little kids would have grown into adults by now, and angry ones at that if they see you."

"Like you?" 18 asked. Trunks was silent for a moment before he answered.

"Yes."

"Failing to see your point," said 18 bluntly. "None of these people hold a candle to you."

"If people see you though, we may end up dealing with a riot, and I do not want anyone getting hurt, got it?" Trunks explained. 18 rolled her eyes. While Trunks may have had some kind of point, it didn't change her mind.

"No one in this town is brave enough to try anything," she said. "And if they are, I'll scare it out of them." Trunks glared at her. "I'm not going to hurt them, jeez. Calm down."

"If we run into anyone that wants to start anything," said Trunks, "you leave the talking and everything else to me, alright?"

"Fine," said 18. "Can we just go?"

It wasn't long after they left the mechanic's that Trunks wished they hadn't. Almost immediately, people started staring. Trunks could see the fear in peoples' eyes building right away. After all, 18 and her brother had been here several times in the past, and they hadn't exactly been subtle.

Once again, this wasn't a feeling 18 was used to. Sure, she'd known people were afraid of her, and for a while that had been fun. But now that she was stuck among them, without the ability to make them leave or blow them all away, she was very uncomfortable. Trunks could tell she was uncomfortable, but said nothing. _'After all,'_ he reasoned, _'this is something she brought on herself.'_

Suddenly, out of the alley right in front of them, stepped a woman. She was a little older than Trunks, probably mid 20's. She had short black hair, sharp blue eyes, and an x-shaped scar on her right cheek. Trunks stopped, as did 18. The woman looked from one to the other.

"Trunks, right?" said the woman. Trunks nodded. "Follow me." She stepped back into the alley, motioning for them to follow. Trunks didn't move. "Come on," she said, urgently. "It's very important." Trunks took a step forward, but stopped.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Just follow me," she said, "and I'll explain everything. We don't have a lot of time." The two followed her into the alley. Trunks was curious. What could be so important?

"Is someone in trouble?" he asked. They stepped into a large back area, an empty space surrounded by buildings.

"You could say that," said the woman. She whistled loudly, the sound echoing throughout the alleyways. There was a sound of rushing feet. Before Trunks or 18 knew what had happened, they were surrounded. The woman spun around, pulling out a handgun.

"What the-?" Trunks exclaimed, getting down into a fighting stance. He looked around. 7 people, including the woman who had led them here, were now all around them, each of them with a machine gun. "Who are you?"

"My name is Videl," proclaimed the woman proudly, "daughter of the Martial Arts Champion Hercule! And we are the Red Shark Gang!" 18 looked slowly around at the people surrounding them. They wouldn't be a challenge at all. Did they truly think they had a chance? She looked at Videl, the woman seemingly leading them. She looked familiar.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" asked Trunks.

"What do you think?" asked Videl. "Actually, a better question is what do you think _you're_ doing? How can you just walk alongside her like nothing is wrong, huh? You know damn well who that is! Are you a traitor now Trunks? Huh?"

"Look," said Trunks, calmly, slowly standing up straight, "it's complicated, alright? I have to-"

"Shut up!" shouted Videl angrily. "Are you really going to try and talk your way out of this?"

"You don't understand!" insisted Trunks. "I have to travel with her right now so I can protect her from-"

"Shut up, Trunks," said 18 calmly. She smirked at Videl. "You should be glad he's calling the shots, and _is_ trying to talk our way out of this. If it was up to me, you'd all be dead."

"You don't scare me," growled Videl, aiming straight at 18 and putting a little pressure on the trigger.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, honey," said 18, smiling and shaking her head.

"Shut up!" yelled Videl. 18 was on her as she pulled the trigger. Videl was momentarily stunned, as were the rest of her gang. 18 held the gun in one hand, and the freshly fired bullet in the other. She smirked again and crushed the gun, casually letting the pieces fall to the floor.

Videl shook herself out of her stupor, jumped back, and then charged at 18. She attempted to execute a kick at 18's head, but the Android blocked it. This surprised Videl, but didn't deter her for a second. She tried kicking again, but was blocked. Then she tried punching, only to have 18 move out of the way.

Soon, Videl was unleashing a flurry of kicks and punches, moving faster than Trunks would have expected from a normal person. 18 just kept dodging and blocking, not showing any signs of effort, while the Red Shark Gang looked on in amazement.

It wasn't long before Videl began to show signs of tiring. Suddenly, Trunks stepped in, blocking one last hit from Videl by carefully grabbing her leg. "That's enough," he said. "Calm down, and let me talk." He looked Videl dead in the eyes, and each knew just how serious the other was about the whole situation. Videl faltered slightly though, for a moment feeling like she may have been out of her league.

However, the fight having stopped, the Red Shark Gang all pointed their guns at 18 again, ready to open fire. "Oh, please," said 18. *FWOOSH* The gang members blinked. They suddenly became aware of an empty feeling in their hands. Their guns had all vanished! They looked back up at 18. There in her hands, twisted together, were their weapons. She dropped the useless ball of metal parts.

"Now that that's taken care of," said Trunks, "we need to talk."

888

Cell and 19 were back at the lab. "Please tell me you can build another tracker," said Cell.

"It is possible," said 19, "but it will take time." Cell's eye twitched. "There is no other way. All of the parts that were readily useable went into the first tracker. I cannot just build another one. I must first repair the pieces, and then put it together." Cell didn't say another word. He walked outside the lab, and flew a short distance away.

19 heard his roar of anger and frustration, but it did not faze the Android. He simply went to work. He knew there were enough parts in this room that he could build another tracker. Unfortunately for Cell, that could take several days.

Cell, meanwhile, was outside panting, seething with fury. They had escaped! And it could be days before he was able to follow them again! He had been SO CLOSE! He tried to calm himself. There would be other chances. He just had to wait. Soon, he would be perfect.

For now, he decided it would be best to use his time wisely. To experiment with his abilities. He knew he could create small clones of himself. He felt it was time to test these "Cell Jr's" as he called them, see what they were capable of. They could prove to be useful.

888

They were sitting in an old warehouse now, using old crates as seats. A redheaded girl, one of the Gang, brought 18 and Trunks a drink each. She scowled at the Android as she handed her the bottle, but smiled warmly and almost, Trunks felt, flirtatiously at him. Trunks took a sip, and then decided to start talking.

"Ok," he said, "I think introductions are in order first. You already know who we are, now who are you?"

"I'm Videl," said their leader. She pointed over at three men, a bald one, a man with brown hair, and a man with black hair and sunglasses. "That's Rock, Jimbo, and Slimjim." She pointed to three others at her right, which where a man with long blonde hair, a woman with short blond hair, and the redhead. "That's Sharpner, Erasa, and Angela"

"The Red Shark Gang huh?" asked 18, taking a drink. Videl glared at her.

"It was my gang," said Rock. "Until you and that other Android came around. Took most of us out. It was just me, and these two." He pointed to Jimbo and Slimjim. "Then Videl found us, and we formed up into this group."

"What for?" asked 18.

"To fight against you," answered Videl.

"No, no," said 18, "I knew that." She smirked. "I meant why bother?" Trunks glared at her, taking the smirk off her face.

"I told you to let me do the talking." He turned back to Videl. "You guys were taking a huge risk, you know that? Trying to fight back against them would have just gotten you killed."

"Well how come you could do it then, huh?" asked Sharpner. "What makes you so special?"

"How come you can fight them and we can't, Trunks?" asked Videl.

"Because," answered 18 before Trunks could speak, "Even if you are a great fighter, and I'll be honest you had some good moves, Trunks is far more powerful than you guys can fathom." The compliment to her fighting ability shocked everyone in the room, and no one more than Videl. "Think about it. You couldn't even touch me. I was holding back even while I was blocking. As I'm sure you've become aware, there are bruises on your arms and legs."

It was true. Videl's limbs were covered in bruises where she had hit 18. "If you'd attacked Trunks, he would have made sure you wouldn't have gotten hurt. I don't coddle like he does. You decided to attack me, I decided to let you know how useless it was. Be thankful I didn't just let you break your hand or something."

"Enough," said Trunks. "We're getting off track here. You wanted to know why I'm traveling with 18 right?" Videl nodded, focusing on Trunks. "You know how strong Eighteen and Seventeen are, right? Especially now, you have an indication of just how tough they are." Videl begrudgingly nodded. "Imagine someone even stronger than that."

"Well that would be you," said Erasa. "Right? I mean, we all heard that you beat the Androids, and if she's here with you-"

"Then that means you've got her on a leash," said Jimbo. 18 looked over at him harshly, and he flinched, but not as much as she was expecting him to.

"Yes," said Trunks, "I am stronger than her. In fact, at this moment, there is no chance she could beat me in a fight. However, picture someone even stronger than me." The Gang seemed to have trouble doing that. "You can't can you? Well, here's the thing. out there, chasing us, is a being that, if he gets a hold of 18, will become more powerful than I can manage."

"W-what?" asked Videl, incredulously. "That's... that's impossible!"

"Now do you see the problem?" said Trunks. "I can't let him get her, and the enemy gets stronger with each encounter, so I need her alive to provide backup. In fact, she saved my life just yesterday." This elicited a gasp from the entire Gang.

"So you're saying you have to keep her alive?" said Videl, "so that this enemy, whoever he is, doesn't get a hold of her, and you can't just blow her up because you might need her help?" Trunks identified the incredulousness in her voice.

"I know," he said. "We think it's messed up too." 18 nodded in agreement. They were all silent for a moment. It was broken by the sound of someone snapping their fingers. It was 18.

"I got it!" she exclaimed, looking at Videl. "Now I know where I remember you from! We ran into you last time we were here." Videl narrowed her eyes at 18.

"Oh I'm so honored that you remember," she said sarcastically. "I'm so proud to know that I'm important enough to be recognized."

"Be thankful you're alive, girly," said 18. "My brother decided not to kill you when you attacked us. He said you were cute or something." This comment served to make Videl angrier, which only amused 18 more. "I almost killed you, you know, since Seventeen always did that to any guy I thought was cute." Videl blanched, remembering the encounter.

18 had grabbed her by the shirt, and pulled her in close, grinning evilly. "You _are_ kind of cute," 18 had said. "I guess I'll let you live. Maybe to thank me, Seventeen won't blow up the next cute guy I see." Videl had never been more afraid in her life, but she still had some fight in her. She had spit in 18's face. 18's eyes had gone wide in anger, and she had thrown Videl to the ground. There was already a cut on Videl's cheek at the time.

18 had pointed her index finger at Videl's face, charged up a small point of energy, and shot it at her. It had grazed her, completing the scar she had now. 18 now got up from her crate and walked over to Videl, inspecting her scar.

"Lucky you," she said. "You still look pretty. I must have been feeling generous that day. Try to remember that next time you want to pull a gun on me, and be thankful that there can be a next time." Videl was furious, but she said nothing.

Trunks was about to speak, to try and say something to calm everyone down, when he noticed something interesting. He could feel Videl's energy. It was low, very very low, compared to his or 18's, but he could still feel it. _'Next to other people,'_ he thought, _'she must be pretty strong. That would explain her leader status. This girl has some serious potential.'_

"Look, listen" he said finally. "Let's not argue anymore, and let's stop picking at each other." He looked specifically at 18, who feigned innocence. "Videl. I think since you and your group are clearly in charge of trying to keep the peace in this city, I should ask you. May we stay here tonight while our truck gets fixed?"

Videl, 18, and the entire Red Shark Gang were shocked at the question. Was the mighty Trunks, Hero of Earth, actually asking _them_ permission to stay? Videl looked at him for a long while, thinking hard. This whole situation was insane, but... Trunks had been honest about everything. She and her group had attacked first, without bothering to question him. She felt she owed him at least one night in the city, even if 18 was with him now.

"Fine," she said. "You can stay. On one condition."

"What's that?" asked Trunks.

"You had better figure out a way to help me fight like you."

"Huh?"

"Think about it," said Videl, a determined smile on her face. "If you have me to help you fight, you won't have to ally yourself with the likes of her anymore, and you'll always have reliable backup." Trunks smiled at Videl's offer. It was bold.

"I don't know how far I could get you," he said. "But some day, I promise, I'll do what I can."

* * *

Ho ho! Well, readers, we're finally getting into exciting territory! Videl's involved now, which I've been trying to make happen for quite some time. I'll go ahead and clear something right now though: 17 thinks she's cute, does not mean I'd consider pairing them up. S'just weird. And as for Videl's deal with Trunks, that's not going to happen soon. By next chapter it'll be just 18 and Trunks on the road again. Next chapter will also have more Cell. Til then!


	10. friends?

Author's note: Ahoy! See? I'm starting to update more regularly. I need to get better about it though, sorry -_-. Now that Trunks and 18 have met Videl, the ball can get rolling. More Cell experiments, more insight into 18, and more Trunks being Trunks. On with the show!

* * *

Trunks and 18 were sharing a room. They found it a bit awkward, as usual, but thankfully it had two beds. Videl and the rest of the Red Shark gang had insisted upon the sleeping arrangements.

"Maybe you trust her," Videl had said, "But we don't. We want you to keep an eye on her while she's in our town, got it?"

Trunks lay there staring up at the ceiling, trying to piece together everything that had happened over the last few weeks. Everything still seemed so strange, but he actually found that he was starting to get used to it. That is, he was starting to get used to having 18 around. Realizing that, though, made him uncomfortable.

"Hey Trunks, you awake?" asked 18.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Did you..." she hesitated. "What did you think about her?"

"Huh?" asked Trunks.

"Videl," said 18. "What did you think of her?"

"Oh, Videl," said Trunks. "I thought she was pretty brave, all things considering. She hardly seemed scared of you at all."

"Is that it?" asked 18.

"No," said Trunks. "There was something else about her. Something special." 18 was silent, so Trunks carried on. "It was small, but I could actually feel her energy."

"So?" asked 18.

"So?" repeated Trunks. "What do you mean 'so'? Do you know what that means?"

"No," said 18. "I don't really know what that means at all, Trunks. I can't sense energy like you can, remember? I can only occasionally feel yours when you flare up."

"I see," said Trunks. "Well this is what it means: out of entire cities of normal people, I can only feel collective energy. Videl is the only person out of everywhere we've been that has actually stuck out. I could feel her over other people."

"So you're saying she's strong," said 18.

"Yeah," said Trunks. "I'm saying that she's really strong compared to the others. She has potential."

"How much potential are we talking about?" asked 18.

"Well," said Trunks, thinking about it, "if my guess is correct, she'd have about as much potential as maybe Yamcha, or Krillen."

"Those two?" asked 18. "Please, those two were weak. They wouldn't be much help now."

"I meant the ones that I knew," said Trunks. "The ones you fought were much weaker than the ones I knew, because I'd warned them you were coming. In fact, I'd say Krillen was able to keep up with the Super Saiyans up to a point."

"Really?" asked 18. "Hmm. He actually sounds a little useful then. At least as a distraction."

"You're seriously over there pitting people up against Cell in your head, aren't you?" asked Trunks.

"Of course I am," said 18. "I've seen what he can do. And you already explained that he's got Saiyan DNA, so each time you blow him away but miss some of him he just keeps coming back stronger. You would have had him last time if it weren't for that little creep."

"Nineteen you mean?" asked Trunks, looking over at her.

"Yeah."

"I honestly wasn't expecting him. I didn't even know he'd been built in this time."

"Gero was working on him when he decided to activate us," explained 18. "I honestly thought we'd reduced him to scrap metal."

"I guess we both made mistakes in that area," said Trunks. They were both quiet after this, each thinking about how things could have been different if they'd been more careful. The strange thing was that Trunks was having a hard time picturing things without 18 now. He kept thinking back to the 18 he'd met in the past. She'd turned out totally different. Did that mean that there was still hope for this 18?

Instead of just shaking the question from his head as he had been doing, he really considered it. It really was possible, he guessed, but he didn't know how likely. After all, she'd been doing evil things far longer than the other 18. But... well, so had his father. If Vegeta could change, could 18? He honestly didn't know. The only thing he was beginning to be sure of was that when the time came and he had defeated Cell, he did not know what he would do with the Androids.

"Did you think she was pretty?" asked 18.

"What?" asked Trunks.

"Videl," said 18, "did you think she was pretty?"

"I guess so, yeah," said Trunks. "I mean, I really wasn't judging her looks at the time. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering, I guess," said 18.

"Right," said Trunks, deciding it was too late at night to be confused. "We should get some sleep. We need to get an early start tomorrow."

"Agreed," said 18. "Good night."

"Uh, good night," replied Trunks.

888

Cell stepped into the canyon outside the lab. The sun was up, and so it was time to work. As he had done the other day, he concentrated on creating a new being. "HA!" he yelled, birthing a Cell Jr. out of his tail. He concentrated again, and created another. He repeated the process once more, and felt like he couldn't create another. He needed to rest for a few moments.

"Curse this imperfect body," he said, panting. "I must achieve perfection soon. This simply will not do." After taking a few moments to regain himself, Cell turned his attention to his new creations.

"Ha!" shouted one, firing an energy blast at another. The other one took it full in the chest and was knocked back. The third struck the first the second his back was turned, and laughed as he fell to the ground.

The second got back up and kicked the first. While he may not have intended to, he kicked the first straight into the third. This caused the third to throw the first into the second. This quickly escalated into a frantic, full on brawl between all three Cell Jr's.

Cell's jaw dropped as he watched the scene unfold. They seemed to be totally mindless! What use could these things possibly be to him!

"ENOUGH!" he shouted. The three instantly stopped, and if Cell hadn't been so furious with them he would have found the position comical. The first had the third in his grip, and had his fist back and ready for a punch, while the second was on the ground underneath the third, ready to kick the first between the legs. "This is no way to behave, boys. Now straighten up!"

Immediately, all three Cell Jr's were on their feet, standing straight up and at attention. Cell put his hand to his chin. It seemed they did have some discipline, and did follow his orders. He realized then that the small things he'd dubbed "Cell Jr's" were only living up to their names. They were acting like children.

"Boys," he said, "I need you to calm down and do as I say, alright?" All three nodded. "You are One, Two, and Three, got it?" He pointed to each in turn, naming them in order of their creation. They nodded at this as well, accepting their new names.

"Now," said Cell, looking from one to another, "One, I want you to power up. Power up as much as you can. Two, I want you to charge up an energy blast, and take a shot at me when I give you the signal. Three, you stand by for orders. Understand?" they nodded again and set about doing as they were told.

While Two began charging his energy for an attack, Cell focused on One. He found that even though their energy signals were nearly identical, he could tell them all apart. His eyes grew wider as One's power level increased. When the Cell Jr. finally peaked, he was at about Cell's power.

'Incredible,' Cell thought. "You may power down now." He turned his attentions to Two. "NOW!"

"HA!" shouted Two, blasting at his father. Cell braced himself for impact and found out immediately that he was right to do so. The blast hit him hard, and he had to concentrate energy towards his front in order to stave off injury.

"Very impressive," said Cell when his son's attack ended. Two grinned evilly, happy to have pleased his father. "Now Three, I need you to do something."

"Eh?" asked Three.

"Attack me." said Cell. "Right now. Only melee, no holding back." Three nodded and took a fighting stance. Cell took one as well, and One and Two each stepped back.

Three rushed at Cell. The second he reached him he began throwing a flurry of punches and kicks. To compensate for his lack of size, Three was floating in midair, which allowed him to punch and kick even faster.

Cell found himself actually straining a little to block all of the incoming blows. He looked for an opening and finally returned a blow, throwing a punch. To his great surprise, Three caught his arm and actually held him there, delivering a kick to Cell's head and sending him crashing into the canyon wall.

Cell got up and dusted himself off. "Very good," he said, wiping a small amount of blood from his lip. In a flash, he was on Three, punching and kicking away, this time forcing Three to dodge and block as fast as possible. Cell finally got a shot in, punching Three and sending him flying into the air.

Cell immediately pursued, and, before Three could right himself, bicycle kicked him up and round, sending him speeding back towards the ground. Just before he could land, Cell was there, and kicked him into the opposite Canyon wall.

The dust cleared, and Three pulled himself out of the rubble. One of the pieces on his head had broken off. Cell and the two other Jr's stood there, waiting for it to grow back. After a few moments, however, a startling fact was revealed. Cell Jr's couldn't regenerate!

When Three realized this, he began freaking out a bit, as did his brothers, and they all began shrieking. They looked for his missing piece and found it. To their horror, they watched it disintegrate. They looked to Cell, unsure of what to do.

"Hmm," said Cell, pondering this new piece of information. "You don't regenerate at all. However, as you are, you are each about as powerful as I am. At least there's that. Good job boys, you've made me very happy."

Their horror at their lack of healing abilities vanished as the three Jr's celebrated what was to them a great victory. Cell decided to keep them out for the day, to train with them and try and find the true limits of their abilities. Besides that, there was nothing else to do but wait for 19 to finish the blasted Android tracker.

888

Trunks and 18 were getting ready to get on the road again. Trunks had gone off to take care of a few last minute things, leaving 18 to her own devices for a little while. She wandered around the town, trying to look inconspicuous for a change. It was difficult, and many people gave her a wide berth. Finally, tired of being avoided, she walked into an alley where she'd noticed a fire escape and climbed up the later until she was at the third level from the top.

She watched people come and go, or tried to. It was much easier when people didn't notice she was there, but that didn't happen often. Suddenly, she became aware of a sniffling noise. It was coming from across the street, but she couldn't see from where at first. She finally saw a little girl across the street. She was crying.

'She must have gotten lost,' thought 18. She frowned. She remembered getting lost as a child. She'd had her brother with her, of course, but it had still been scary. She almost left her perch, thinking to go comfort the girl, when she saw a man making a beeline for her.

Seeing this made her suddenly uneasy. Did he mean the girl harm? Was she going to have to stop him? He reached the little girl and bent down to her level. 18, quick as a flash, climbed the rest of the fire escape and hopped to the top of the building. She ran to the edge of the building and jumped across the street. She had to get a better look at the man and the little girl.

She went to the edge of the other building, kneeling down and looking over the edge.

"What's wrong?" asked the man.

"I l-lost m-my m-mommy!" sobbed the little girl.

"Aw, you hush now," said the man, smiling kindly at her. "Here, come on, let's find your mama." Without another word, the man hoisted the girl up and put her on his shoulders. 18 kept all of her focus on the man, watching for the slightest sign of malicious intent. However, the man gave her no cause to worry. He began calling out to the crowd, looking for the girl's mother.

Soon, a woman rushed forward. "Mommy!" cried the little girl, leaping from the man's shoulders into the arms of her mother.

"Oh, I was so worried!" exclaimed the mother. 18 found herself smiling as they embraced, and smiling wider when she thanked the man for his kindness.

'Maybe,' she thought to herself, sitting back on the building and looking into the sky, 'maybe I had them pegged all wrong. Maybe some people are actually worth keeping around.'

888

They were on the road again. They had bid farewell to Videl, and Trunks had reaffirmed his promise that someday he'd come back to try and train her. 18 had offered to drive today, in order to give Trunks a break.

He had been surprised by her offer, but he accepted it without question. The ride was a quiet one at first, each of them keeping to their own thoughts. 18 was still happy at having seen what she saw earlier. It had just put her in a really good mood.

"You know," said Trunks, "I saw you today."

"What?" asked 18, snapping out of her thoughts.

"On that roof top," said Trunks. "I saw you watching that whole thing."

"You saw that too?" asked 18. Trunks nodded.

"Put you in a good mood, didn't it?"

"Yes, actually," said 18. "I just... I didn't think there were any good people like that anymore."

"And why is that?" asked Trunks.

"The same reason I have trouble trusting anyone," she answered. "Gero really messed us both up, you know."

"I see," said Trunks. He pulled something out of the truck's glove compartment. He turned it over in his hands a few times before offering it to 18. 18 looked from the road to his hands, but kept her attention mostly on the road.

"Open it and see," he said. She pulled over and took the thing out off his hands. Her eyes widened. A small, thin, square package like this could only be one thing. She opened it excitedly.

"You got me a CD?" she asked.

"A couple of towns back," said Trunks, "when I went into that store without you. It was from that band you liked."

"You cared enough to remember what I was listening to on the radio?" she asked.

"Surprisingly," answered Trunks. "I felt bad about the stuff I'd said. I got you that and just thought I'd wait to give it to you. Don't know why, really."

"Well thanks," said 18, genuinely smiling at him. She put the CD in, and began driving as the music started.

Trunks and 18 weren't sure about much, but at least now they were sure of one thing. The rest of this crazy road trip might just be bearable after all.

* * *

TADA! And there you go. Sorry for the wait, all. All in all, I'm happy with how this came out, I really am. However, things are only going to get more intense from here.

What will Cell do with his newfound powers?

Will Trunks and 18 continue to get along?

What will happen when 19 finishes the tracking device? Find out next time, on Dragon Ball Z!


	11. enemies

Author's note: Late, no excuse. Bad author, bad. But, here I am, and here comes the next chapter. Here we go!

* * *

"AH!" Trunks cried in his sleep. 18's eyes shot open. They were sleeping in the truck, and they were, according to Trunks's estimates, just a couple of days away from their destination. 18 put her hand on Trunks's shoulder, and tried to wake him.

"Trunks?" she asked. "Trunks? Wake up." His face had a pained, angry expression on it, one that 18 immediately decided she did not like. "Wake up!"

"AAH!" he exclaimed, bolting awake. The first thing he saw was 18, and he wasn't fully aware of reality yet. He grabbed her shoulder, and for a brief moment, 18 felt fear. However, Trunks came to reality very quickly, and sat up, leaning towards her. He was breathing heavily.

"Trunks?"

"You're real, right?" he asked. She nodded. To her surprise, he rested his head on her shoulder. "Just... just gimme a minute, ok?" 18 nodded. In an attempt to improve the situation, she tentatively put her arm around him, and put her hand on the back of his head, and patted him comfortingly. Her own actions surprised her somewhat.

After a minute, Trunks pulled away. He closed his eyes and rubbed the sides of his head. 18 looked at him, concerned.

"What was all that?" she asked.

"Bad dream," he answered.

"Same as the other day?" she asked. He nodded. "I don't wanna sound superstitious or anything, but the last time you had a nightmare we had a really crappy day."

"Yeah, we did," he said. "We should get moving."

888

"Cell," said 19, "it is complete."

"It is?" asked Cell excitedly. "Finally!" He flew over to 19 and took the device.

"You must be careful," cautioned 19. "There are not enough parts left to construct a replacement if something happens to that device."

"I see," said Cell. "That is a concern, then. I can't afford to lose track of them again, and they're being smart enough not to... hang on a second. They are traveling together. That means... maybe..." His mouth twisted into a wicked grin.

"I assume you have a plan," stated 19.

"Yes, yes I do," said Cell. "I'm only going to have one shot at this though, so I'm going to need to get it right the first time." He looked over at 19. "You are absolutely certain we can't make another one of these?"

"Yes."

"Then I suppose your services are no longer required," said Cell. 19's eyes widened. He didn't have time to react as Cell's tail expanded, and he engulfed the android. Cell laughed as the his ally-turned-victim struggled. It wasn't long before he had completely absorbed the android. As he had guessed, taking 19 did not bring him any closer to his perfect form. It had, however, increased his overall power level, something he'd need today for sure.

"I hope he appreciates the fact that he's now part of something much greater than himself," said Cell. "He has brought me one step closer to perfection." He did not give his attack on 19 another thought.

He looked at the tracking device in his hand. There was one thing he needed to try. One sure way to achieve perfection. This time there would be no mistakes, no error, no failure.

He stepped outside and cracked his neck. What he was about to do was a long shot, but he'd been practicing with his powers, and with the additional energy gleamed from 19, it would be possible to do what he wanted.

He focused. He had created clones before, but this would be his greatest creation to date. He poured as much energy as possible into the act, and after several minutes began to feel it working. His tail expanded, and out shot what Cell was sure would be his greatest asset.

"Ah, ah, ah," panted the figure. Cell looked upon him and smiled. The figure stood up and looked back at him, a smile on his face as well. Before Cell stood a perfect replica of Android 17. Perfect except for the green eyes; the same color green as Cell's body.

"Just as planned," said Cell, seeing himself through the new 17's eyes. The mental connection was strong, and Cell could already tell there was absolutely no resistence in the clone. He was 100% loyal.

"What do you wish me to do?" asked 17, his eerie green eyes shining. "As if I need to ask."

"Exactly," said Cell. "I need you to keep Trunks at bay long enough to absorb 18." 17 nodded in understanding.

"There is one problem," said the 17 clone. "Seventeen himself was not a match for Trunks in the state he was when you absorbed him. Even though you have granted me with extra energy, I cannot hope to stand up to him at full power."

"You have a point," said Cell. "Though you aren't taking into account the one with him."

"Eighteen?"

"Yes. Surely she would interfere. Or he may not kill you at all. I noticed what appeared to be some loyalty growing between the two, last I saw them."

"Doubtful," said the faux 17, frowning. "Even if that were the case, there is no guarantee that Trunks would take it easy on me. After all, I am a clone of the man that killed his father, and mentor." Cell nodded. "But surely this isn't your whole plan, master."

"It is not," said Cell. "While I was hoping the idea of fighting you might slow him down, it is quite possible that Trunks will not be affected by it. However, there is one other thing we can do."

"What would that be, master?" Cell grinned.

"Do you know what happens when one of the clones I produce meets its original?" Cell knew that the clone before him shared his knowledge, and knew perfectly well what he was talking about. Cell just enjoyed gloating over his own genius. The false 17 smiled wickedly.

Cell began to concentrate again. What he was about to do was risky, but he did think to take some precautions. With all of the extra energy he had obtained from absorbing 19, he was able to produce two Cell Juniors. The Cell Juniors, he knew, would remain loyal to him no matter what, and so if nothing else he would have reliable backup. The 17 clone would also be loyal, though he would like to retain a mental link with him just to be sure.

"Here we go," said Cell.

888

"How are we on distance?" asked 18.

"Pretty close," said Trunks. "But I'm a bit worried. What if it really is some kind of omen, and Cell comes to find us today?"

"You really think that could happen?" asked 18.

"I'm saying it's a possibility," said Trunks. "In case it does happen, I think I'd rather stay and fight. I don't need any innocent people getting hurt."

"Aren't we far enough away that that won't happen?"

"You know how our fights can get," said Trunks. "You know it could escalate. I don't want to risk it."

"You have a point." Trunks looked at her, startled. 18 looked back at him. "Look, after that last town... let's just say I don't want to risk some kid..." She trailed off. Trunks nodded, and began to slow the truck down. He looked for a place to hide it. Thankfully, they were still in the desert, and there were plenty of rocky outcrops and caves. He found one to hide the vehicle, and got out to wait, leaning against the side of the cave.

18 came and joined him, also resting against the side of the cave. "So what's the game plan?"

"Same as it's been," said Trunks. "He'll probably have gotten another tracker ready. That's the only way he could find us, you know?"

"You're really convinced he's coming today, aren't you?" Trunks nodded.

"I've got a really strong feeling that he will," answered the half-saiyan.

"Guess I trust you then," said 18. He looked over at her, mystified. She sighed. "Look, I'm just sick of it all, ok? All the running, hiding from this guy, and I'm sick of fighting you too, you know? If you say he's coming today, then I guess he's coming today, and I'd better be ready for him."

"I'd rather you hid," said Trunks. "Now that I know he has Nineteen with him, I should be able to deal with them both."

"Thanks for the concern," said 18, "but I think I'd rather help. I can take Nineteen, or at least distract him while you fight Cell. As long as Nineteen is out of your way, you shouldn't have a problem."

"But then you'll be out in the open, and Cell will be going straight for you," said Trunks.

"Then I guess you'll just have to stop him before he can reach me, won't you?" asked 18. "Besides, he'll be distracted if he's focusing on me, so you should be able to take care of him. And once you get Seventeen out of him..." She grew quiet. It was a subject they hadn't really brought up before.

"... he'll be much weaker after that," said Trunks, "And then he'll be no problem at all." 18 smiled.

"Thanks," she said. Trunks nodded. "I won't forget it."

"I'll do what I can," said Trunks. "A powered down Cell is something I look forward to."

888

It had been hours, and just as Trunks was beginning to suspect that his dream had been nothing more than that, he felt something. He stood straight up. 18, who had slipped into a state of near sleep, shook her head.

"What is it, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I can sense a whole lot of energy," said Trunks.

"Cell?"

"Yeah, but there's more than that," said Trunks. His tone made 18 worry. "I'm sensing multiple power levels, all of them at about Cell's level." 18 blanched.

"W-what?"

"And there's one more, one that I can't figure out," said Trunks. "It's like the one Nineteen had, but different."

"What does that mean?" asked 18.

"It means it's half there and half not, but it feels different than the energy Nineteen was giving off," answered Trunks. "Beyond that I have no idea what it could..." he trailed off as he saw a large sparrow flying off in the distance. "That bird."

"What about it?"

"It's connected to Cell somehow, it has to be," said Trunks. "I saw it last time too." There was a determined look on his face. "I'd better go. Don't show yourself too soon, ok?" 18 nodded.

Trunks went out and stood in what was basically a small canyon. He waited for a bit, mentally preparing himself. Three and a half huge power levels, and one of them significantly less than the others. He didn't understand it, but he had to be ready no matter what.

"COME ON OUT CELL!" Trunks shouted finally, fed up with the silence.

"Cell doesn't feel like coming out to play right now," answered a voice from above that was as shocking as it was familiar. Trunks looked up, wide-eyed. A figure descended slowly from the sky.

"Y...you..." Trunks was completely speechless.

"Yes," said the newcomer, landing some yards in front of him. "Me."

He was tall, taller than Trunks. He wore a green shirt with long sleeves, torn jeans, and an orange scarf. His black hair went down past his shoulders, and his emerald eyes were boring into Trunks.

From her hiding place, 18 was absolutely transfixed. It... it couldn't be. It just couldn't.

"Se...Seventeen?" asked Trunks, taking a step back. The man in front of him smiled.

"You recognize me!" he said sarcastically. "I'm so flattered! And it saves on introductions."

"What... what happened to you?" asked Trunks. "How did you get out of Cell?" The diminished power level he had felt suddenly made sense.

"Cell decided to let me out, stretch my legs a bit," smirked 17, "and after that, well... let's just say that I met my better half." He took a step toward Trunks. "Now, I've come to collect my sister. Are you prepared to hand her over, or do I have to beat her location out of you?"

"Take a guess," said Trunks, steeling himself and dropping to a fighting stance. 17's wicked grin grew slightly wider.

"I was really hoping you would say that."

* * *

CLIFFHANGER! Sorry, it was this or a super long chapter, and I needed to get this done. Next one will be soon, because I'm really looking forward to this fight. I wish to say now that things from here on out are going to be going exactly as planned, and I do hope you all will come along for the ride.

Edit: Also, oops, I seem to have put the wrong document for this chapter initially. sorry for the confusion!


End file.
